To those who read this blog:
I have started a new site with a more professional slant - GamesTopica.net
Hope to see you over there.
Game Videos and Game Developments
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, November 10, 2008
Lessons learned
1) Ask those involved to count the cost
Count carefully. A full accounting would be good, and the cost is not just money or time: it's commitment.
2) A battleship can't fight and be a tugboat at the same time
Drop the deadwood. If you end up as the only battleship on the waters, drop the whole mission.
3) Backup that never came is worse than no backup.
Memorise this. Everyday.
4) When things are easy and going fine, people put up fronts.
Doubly memorised.
5) If the mission is important enough, don't use it to do others favors
Such as "coaching them" or "training them". A critical mission calls for a ready team. Not ready? Not yet.
6) Talk is cheap. Action costs and committement priceless
7) If the path is not the same, there's no working together
Keep the contact short and brief. Get what you want and get out. Over time, "you scratch my back and I scratch yours" doesn't work for the long run. Get people who really share the same goals, visions and values. If their best reason for helping is "I am free now" or "It looks interesting" or "I want the experience", don't count them on being on board for the long-time. No shared values or vision? Work briefly on short-term goals and find people with the same values.
8) You can't work with people who bring you emotional support; people who work with you cannot bring your emotional support.
You can't have it both way (there are exceptions). Either you lose them as emotional support, or you lose them as working pals. Choose one. Don't be greedy
Count carefully. A full accounting would be good, and the cost is not just money or time: it's commitment.
2) A battleship can't fight and be a tugboat at the same time
Drop the deadwood. If you end up as the only battleship on the waters, drop the whole mission.
3) Backup that never came is worse than no backup.
Memorise this. Everyday.
4) When things are easy and going fine, people put up fronts.
Doubly memorised.
5) If the mission is important enough, don't use it to do others favors
Such as "coaching them" or "training them". A critical mission calls for a ready team. Not ready? Not yet.
6) Talk is cheap. Action costs and committement priceless
7) If the path is not the same, there's no working together
Keep the contact short and brief. Get what you want and get out. Over time, "you scratch my back and I scratch yours" doesn't work for the long run. Get people who really share the same goals, visions and values. If their best reason for helping is "I am free now" or "It looks interesting" or "I want the experience", don't count them on being on board for the long-time. No shared values or vision? Work briefly on short-term goals and find people with the same values.
8) You can't work with people who bring you emotional support; people who work with you cannot bring your emotional support.
You can't have it both way (there are exceptions). Either you lose them as emotional support, or you lose them as working pals. Choose one. Don't be greedy
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
[The Tao of Game Dev] The Game Competition of Red Cliff
Cao Cao, the vile CEO of his evil corporate which has consumed numerous independent game studios, has issued a challenge to some of the few remaining game developers of the trublent era - Liu Bei and Sun Quan! Under the very eye of Heaven, with Earth as witness and the Changtze river as the site of the contest, a massive game competition will take place at Chibi -- the Red Cliff!
Liu Bei, fearing the vast amount of programmers, artists and managers which Cao Cao has amassed since acquiring his rival, Yuan Shao, in a hostile takeover, sought Zhuge Liang for advice.
"Have no fear, my liege-lord," Zhuge Liang says with a wave of his feather fan! "I should embark on a trip to Wu, where I will persuade Sun Quan to join forces with us." And thus, he takes his leave from Liu Bei and travelled with an emassiary from the south, Lu Su.
On the way to Wu, Lu Su pleads with Zhuge Liang, "Do not reveal the true numbers of Cao Cao's host lest my lord Sun Quan be discouraged!" Yet the transcendent strategist only smiles and says nothing more!
At the court of Wu, the Managers and Producers there eye Zhuge Liang with disdain. "He's nothing more than a farmer, a drop-out from school and his portfolio has nothing! What does he know of games and its creation!" They were talking of a merger just then! They would try to stop Zhuge Liang from persuading Sun Quan to attend the competition at all costs!"
"Master Zhuge," one of the senior manager starts the debate, "May I ask what treatises of Game Design did you study? Which Masters of Yore do you subscribe to?"
Zhuge Liang waves his feather fan and retorts, "The Tao of Game Development is not found in dusty tomes or in the mere words of the Ancients. A designer may be able to recite all the game genres, mechanics and principles by heart, but not able to come up with any innovative games!
There are the noble designer and the shallow designer. The latter would fill himself with principles and rules, theories and studies, and maybe even at time, compose an ode, a criticism or a scathing game review! Yet the games he designed are just shadows of the great, sequels after sequels, designed to fill his stomach! But of the noble game designer, he sets aside his preconceptions, open his eyes to the games and the people playing them and form his own understanding.
You asked me what tomes of game design or masters of development have I studied? I will ask you then - What game design books did Sid Meier read? Which design school did Chris Crawford attend? Who taught Hironobu Sakaguchi game production?"
And the officer is silenced.
Liu Bei, fearing the vast amount of programmers, artists and managers which Cao Cao has amassed since acquiring his rival, Yuan Shao, in a hostile takeover, sought Zhuge Liang for advice.
"Have no fear, my liege-lord," Zhuge Liang says with a wave of his feather fan! "I should embark on a trip to Wu, where I will persuade Sun Quan to join forces with us." And thus, he takes his leave from Liu Bei and travelled with an emassiary from the south, Lu Su.
On the way to Wu, Lu Su pleads with Zhuge Liang, "Do not reveal the true numbers of Cao Cao's host lest my lord Sun Quan be discouraged!" Yet the transcendent strategist only smiles and says nothing more!
At the court of Wu, the Managers and Producers there eye Zhuge Liang with disdain. "He's nothing more than a farmer, a drop-out from school and his portfolio has nothing! What does he know of games and its creation!" They were talking of a merger just then! They would try to stop Zhuge Liang from persuading Sun Quan to attend the competition at all costs!"
"Master Zhuge," one of the senior manager starts the debate, "May I ask what treatises of Game Design did you study? Which Masters of Yore do you subscribe to?"
Zhuge Liang waves his feather fan and retorts, "The Tao of Game Development is not found in dusty tomes or in the mere words of the Ancients. A designer may be able to recite all the game genres, mechanics and principles by heart, but not able to come up with any innovative games!
There are the noble designer and the shallow designer. The latter would fill himself with principles and rules, theories and studies, and maybe even at time, compose an ode, a criticism or a scathing game review! Yet the games he designed are just shadows of the great, sequels after sequels, designed to fill his stomach! But of the noble game designer, he sets aside his preconceptions, open his eyes to the games and the people playing them and form his own understanding.
You asked me what tomes of game design or masters of development have I studied? I will ask you then - What game design books did Sid Meier read? Which design school did Chris Crawford attend? Who taught Hironobu Sakaguchi game production?"
And the officer is silenced.
Monday, October 27, 2008
[Review] 20th Century Boys
A "save the world" movie with minimal special effects, almost no action sequences and without the usual action hero cliche? Sounds impossible it does, but 20th Century Boys managed to pull it off, a feat which means that you either will be absorbed in the twists and turns of the plot or be superbly bored by the lack of explosions and CG effects.
In 20th Century Boys, a group of primary school kids made a secret base out in the fields (something which is utterly impossible in Singapore), pretended to be Sentai anime heroes and vanquished evil in rural Japanese backyard. When they all grow up, they *drum roll* turned out to be rather ordinary - owner of a convenience store, a shop-keeper of a stationary stand, business man and the like. Harldy the stuff for heroic epics (save for two of them, but they are neither Batman nor Ironman material).
Imagine their shock and horror when a recent wave of virus attacks, bomb explosions and the rise of a mysterious brainwashing (and finger pointing) cult and its conspiracy to doom the entire world were actually somehow linked to them! Woot, cue mysterious music!
This premise is what make the show a quaint, interesting and somewhat oxymoron. On one hand, the so-called 'heroes' who have to stop the villain are believable as ordinary human beings with no super powers. Then you have the bizzare evil-doings which usually demand a supernatural human being gifted with incredible powers to put a stop, but none turned up in the movie.
All the cliche in typical "super-hero saves the world" movies are explored and lambasted, as if mocking the uninspired movies and animes rolled out by both Japan and Hollywood alike. There's the cliche of a prophecy, a Chosen One, a group of Heroes to put an end to the evil, but of course, things aren't that straightforward.
The movie somehow brilliantly manage to tread between the real and the surreal, cliche and unconventional, natural and hockey, laugh and fear; back and forth it swung between the various extremes within a few minutes of each other.
Meanwhile, we, the audience, are subtely reminded of the consquences of mindless group think, peer pressure, censorship, the fall-out from social exclusion among children (which lead to many real horrorifc events, such as the Sarin gas attack in the Japanese subway and the Columbia High School shooting. Jack Neo should take a leaf from this movie; never once did the movie sounds preachy or patronising.
In the end, though, opinions of this movie might be polarised. While many would dig the movie for its plot, the acting is really amatuerish and strained, inspiring laughter at inapproriate moments, though I do wonder if it is delibrate. Astute readers may notice that I never even mention the names of the character or what happened to them; indeed, character development is somewhat at a minimal here; besides the main male lead, the rest are forgettable and can be easily given nicknames such as the Fat Guy, the Evil Cult Leader and so on.
The final complaint one might have is the lacking amount of action, explosions and CG magic that usually accompany movies which has "The End of Mankind has Begun" as tagline. That, and also the fact that the story does not end in the final frame. Stay tune for the sequel, folk!
In 20th Century Boys, a group of primary school kids made a secret base out in the fields (something which is utterly impossible in Singapore), pretended to be Sentai anime heroes and vanquished evil in rural Japanese backyard. When they all grow up, they *drum roll* turned out to be rather ordinary - owner of a convenience store, a shop-keeper of a stationary stand, business man and the like. Harldy the stuff for heroic epics (save for two of them, but they are neither Batman nor Ironman material).
Imagine their shock and horror when a recent wave of virus attacks, bomb explosions and the rise of a mysterious brainwashing (and finger pointing) cult and its conspiracy to doom the entire world were actually somehow linked to them! Woot, cue mysterious music!
This premise is what make the show a quaint, interesting and somewhat oxymoron. On one hand, the so-called 'heroes' who have to stop the villain are believable as ordinary human beings with no super powers. Then you have the bizzare evil-doings which usually demand a supernatural human being gifted with incredible powers to put a stop, but none turned up in the movie.
All the cliche in typical "super-hero saves the world" movies are explored and lambasted, as if mocking the uninspired movies and animes rolled out by both Japan and Hollywood alike. There's the cliche of a prophecy, a Chosen One, a group of Heroes to put an end to the evil, but of course, things aren't that straightforward.
The movie somehow brilliantly manage to tread between the real and the surreal, cliche and unconventional, natural and hockey, laugh and fear; back and forth it swung between the various extremes within a few minutes of each other.
Meanwhile, we, the audience, are subtely reminded of the consquences of mindless group think, peer pressure, censorship, the fall-out from social exclusion among children (which lead to many real horrorifc events, such as the Sarin gas attack in the Japanese subway and the Columbia High School shooting. Jack Neo should take a leaf from this movie; never once did the movie sounds preachy or patronising.
In the end, though, opinions of this movie might be polarised. While many would dig the movie for its plot, the acting is really amatuerish and strained, inspiring laughter at inapproriate moments, though I do wonder if it is delibrate. Astute readers may notice that I never even mention the names of the character or what happened to them; indeed, character development is somewhat at a minimal here; besides the main male lead, the rest are forgettable and can be easily given nicknames such as the Fat Guy, the Evil Cult Leader and so on.
The final complaint one might have is the lacking amount of action, explosions and CG magic that usually accompany movies which has "The End of Mankind has Begun" as tagline. That, and also the fact that the story does not end in the final frame. Stay tune for the sequel, folk!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Looking Backward
Hopefully the end of a roller coaster ride in my life is at the end. The question is, am I dropping off the track down a steep fall, or onto another another guts-wrenching, emotional sine curve again as the challenges of finding a job, holding it down, paying taxes and fitting into society rears its head?
I admit that I don't adapt well to society: Don't rock the boats, follow the flow, don't be too upset if you are complying etc. etc. etc. Sound advice for pragmatic times, in a practical place like Singapore. I hate it. Oh, I didn't enjoy my National Service - that should be obvious.
Looking forward, not backward, is the key to success; not me. I am must have a historian's blood flowing within my veins (and if my amateur genealogy is any good, I may hail from a family of Chinese historians) - looking backward is my favourite past-time.
Three Strikes and you are out? I should be out long ago then. Did I make it for NTU's scholarship? Nope. Burst NTU's fucked up system of internship to fight for my rights to be placed in a company of my right? Nope. Get Teridian Shadow going as planned, with ahem, my dear leader? Nope. Get into Gambit for at any of the three positions - programmer, producer or designer? Nope. Get into KOEI for my internship? Nope. Heck. one may even conclude at this point that I just don't have the cuts for the games industry at all.
Like it or not, and just to be honest, the Singapore Student Chapter under my 'leadership' (in quotes here, because, well, I don't think I was good at it) can be classified at most as a 'marginal success', or if generously put, a 'horrible tactical mistake' and 'of no strategical value whatsoever'.
No matter what you are doing, what you are in for, my measuring tape for what I have done is what good have I done for the others around me? Going by this measurement, I have failed most horribly. After much fury and noise, the SSC achieved nothing other than ruffing some feathers, burning bridges and making enemies. Oh boy, what a good job I have done.
I am a negative person. I guess being negative is the real deal-breaker here. People like to hear good news. Heck, even self-help books advocate staying away from negative people (which may explain why I getting so little contact from people now). I admit that I am a negative person; please don't for a while imagine that I enjoy it. Do you like to keep thinking that you are doomed seven times in a day?
In my better days, I would call myself realistic. But with the negative attention on negative people (or perhaps on pointing out the uncomfortable truth or cooking up some unpleasant alternatives, which have a chance of being true), I guess I just lump myself with the doom-sayers. My only comfort? Jesus did say that "Woe to you when others speak well of you...for this is how your forefeathers treat the false prophets".
I am going to take a break. Yep, call me lacking in perservance and giving up easily; my question to you is that have you even walk at least 100 metres in my shoes? Sometimes I think I am a complete loser; sometimes I think I have done pretty okay despite being a complete loser. You have to gauge me by a loser's standards, not your already "I-am-at-the-peak" position (meanwhile, "I-am-at-the-pits" and I would appreciate it if you stop pouring cold water down and turning it into a well).
In wars, who are tasked with boosting the morale of the soldiers? I still find it really strange that with all the talk of "pull up yourselves by your bootstrap", it is the leaders, the generals, the buddy who is sharing the same smelly, dirty, muddy trench as you who always bloster each other's morale.
In my readings of most self-help books, it is listed being postitve, upbeat, forward-looking and etc. are desirable qualities to have - I just like to point out a few things. First, many of them suggests getting a support group. Second, to those who have out-thought their ways to success, congrats - some of us have enough mud kicked in our face and would appreciate some help. I doubt it's easier to get out from a quicksand all by yourself.
Or to paraphrase what Saint James say in the Bible - words without action == bullshit.
I think Personal Success is tied to Group Success. What an out-dated, old-fashioned, contrived way of thinking when it is "All Man for Himself" nowadays! We are all trained to be totally indepedent, self-made men, excelling at a particular field, be it science or 3d modelling, accounting or writing complicated SQL queries.
Things like concencus, loyalty and considering others' interest should not impede personal development, career advancement, and most importantly, career advancement (did I mention that already?).
This reminds me of a Lord of the Rings Online analogy. The healer, who cannot tank, or have high damage output, always has to rely on other classes to go through quests. More often than not, once those guys get their quests done in a tough dungeon, they ditch the healer and map back to their own la-la land, leaving the poor healer behind with no quests done.
Hey, guys, do remember that some roles require coordination and people who depends on others. Don't call that role weak. Don't call that role dependent or some other pansy names. When you break away at the moment when you are most needed, don't say that person is taking it personally when he gets worked up. Citing 'career advancement' is only to like, you know, make him even madder than before (and don't expect a warm reception when you need his help again).
What is that role? It's coordinator. Some circles call it manager, producer, prime minister or president (depending on which country you are in).
Right, so you are in total control of your emotions? Able to push past negative feelings and look forward? Shrunk risk to a minimal? Disregard the negative people and go ahead to do whatever you need to do to get on with personal success! Good for you - you be a capable leader of exactly just one person - you alone, and yourself.
Some people find that to be quite all right. Actually. most people, I think. Which is what make me anomaly on planet Earth. For better or for worse, one pillar cannot hold up the roof; for better or for worse, I work best in teams, not as an individual.
But it's a sad, lonely world out there, where personal success (and touting it, and purusuing it) is the norm. I know, some subscribe to the 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours', but how many of those stay around after you have scratched their back? Or how many actually stay as long as you did? Like it or not, even just scratching backs require black and white these days, or else people will be jumping on you and saying, "Your expectations are too high".
I am not going to make a career out of my passions. For now. My passions are - game design, production, and anything related to creatively creating. Sometimes, when your passions become jobs, you lose your cool, perspective and etc, which is something frowned up by prim and proper Singaporeans (and most coporate types, which sadly, are most likely to be in charge of my promotion and coffer).
I be going into related fields though, like VR, simulations or e-learning, where ego games mean nothing to me and getting my own job well done is probably enough for me. Am I submitting to the evils of this world? Funny, I thought I am just trying to fit into society, think postitvely and etc ad nasuem. You can't just please all people all the time.
So I am going to do what I am probably good at - common programming and web applications. Tester, level designer or something gritty. I reserve my dreams for designing games to weekends and free times, thank you very much.
I am doing some good things. Let me sign off by I am returning to the roots of my passions. No flash-bang graphics, just gameplay. No coordination of big groups of people, just myself and a couple of friends. No more begging people for their weekends and free time - honestly, I have enough of that. And I only reserve my time for people who appreciate it.
Why I am being so negative here? Dude, this is what I am! I desist people who put up a front and disappears once they get what they want or when it doesn't serve them well anymore. If anything I have written above is a deal-breaker. hey, at least you know it without having to spend six months trying to be my good friend, only to say farewell with a "I am disappointed with you" when I am not as useful or helpful or become a hinderance in your life.
Yeah, I know that won't earn me any friends. But how many have I kept so far? How many are for real?
First, to thyself be true...Yeah, I am an idealist. Shoot me.
(I also know that putting this up may decrease my chances of getting a job. But hey, this is me. My personality, outlook, values and principles would eventually ooze out, so why not just make it clear upfront?)
I admit that I don't adapt well to society: Don't rock the boats, follow the flow, don't be too upset if you are complying etc. etc. etc. Sound advice for pragmatic times, in a practical place like Singapore. I hate it. Oh, I didn't enjoy my National Service - that should be obvious.
Looking forward, not backward, is the key to success; not me. I am must have a historian's blood flowing within my veins (and if my amateur genealogy is any good, I may hail from a family of Chinese historians) - looking backward is my favourite past-time.
Three Strikes and you are out? I should be out long ago then. Did I make it for NTU's scholarship? Nope. Burst NTU's fucked up system of internship to fight for my rights to be placed in a company of my right? Nope. Get Teridian Shadow going as planned, with ahem, my dear leader? Nope. Get into Gambit for at any of the three positions - programmer, producer or designer? Nope. Get into KOEI for my internship? Nope. Heck. one may even conclude at this point that I just don't have the cuts for the games industry at all.
Like it or not, and just to be honest, the Singapore Student Chapter under my 'leadership' (in quotes here, because, well, I don't think I was good at it) can be classified at most as a 'marginal success', or if generously put, a 'horrible tactical mistake' and 'of no strategical value whatsoever'.
No matter what you are doing, what you are in for, my measuring tape for what I have done is what good have I done for the others around me? Going by this measurement, I have failed most horribly. After much fury and noise, the SSC achieved nothing other than ruffing some feathers, burning bridges and making enemies. Oh boy, what a good job I have done.
I am a negative person. I guess being negative is the real deal-breaker here. People like to hear good news. Heck, even self-help books advocate staying away from negative people (which may explain why I getting so little contact from people now). I admit that I am a negative person; please don't for a while imagine that I enjoy it. Do you like to keep thinking that you are doomed seven times in a day?
In my better days, I would call myself realistic. But with the negative attention on negative people (or perhaps on pointing out the uncomfortable truth or cooking up some unpleasant alternatives, which have a chance of being true), I guess I just lump myself with the doom-sayers. My only comfort? Jesus did say that "Woe to you when others speak well of you...for this is how your forefeathers treat the false prophets".
I am going to take a break. Yep, call me lacking in perservance and giving up easily; my question to you is that have you even walk at least 100 metres in my shoes? Sometimes I think I am a complete loser; sometimes I think I have done pretty okay despite being a complete loser. You have to gauge me by a loser's standards, not your already "I-am-at-the-peak" position (meanwhile, "I-am-at-the-pits" and I would appreciate it if you stop pouring cold water down and turning it into a well).
In wars, who are tasked with boosting the morale of the soldiers? I still find it really strange that with all the talk of "pull up yourselves by your bootstrap", it is the leaders, the generals, the buddy who is sharing the same smelly, dirty, muddy trench as you who always bloster each other's morale.
In my readings of most self-help books, it is listed being postitve, upbeat, forward-looking and etc. are desirable qualities to have - I just like to point out a few things. First, many of them suggests getting a support group. Second, to those who have out-thought their ways to success, congrats - some of us have enough mud kicked in our face and would appreciate some help. I doubt it's easier to get out from a quicksand all by yourself.
Or to paraphrase what Saint James say in the Bible - words without action == bullshit.
I think Personal Success is tied to Group Success. What an out-dated, old-fashioned, contrived way of thinking when it is "All Man for Himself" nowadays! We are all trained to be totally indepedent, self-made men, excelling at a particular field, be it science or 3d modelling, accounting or writing complicated SQL queries.
Things like concencus, loyalty and considering others' interest should not impede personal development, career advancement, and most importantly, career advancement (did I mention that already?).
This reminds me of a Lord of the Rings Online analogy. The healer, who cannot tank, or have high damage output, always has to rely on other classes to go through quests. More often than not, once those guys get their quests done in a tough dungeon, they ditch the healer and map back to their own la-la land, leaving the poor healer behind with no quests done.
Hey, guys, do remember that some roles require coordination and people who depends on others. Don't call that role weak. Don't call that role dependent or some other pansy names. When you break away at the moment when you are most needed, don't say that person is taking it personally when he gets worked up. Citing 'career advancement' is only to like, you know, make him even madder than before (and don't expect a warm reception when you need his help again).
What is that role? It's coordinator. Some circles call it manager, producer, prime minister or president (depending on which country you are in).
Right, so you are in total control of your emotions? Able to push past negative feelings and look forward? Shrunk risk to a minimal? Disregard the negative people and go ahead to do whatever you need to do to get on with personal success! Good for you - you be a capable leader of exactly just one person - you alone, and yourself.
Some people find that to be quite all right. Actually. most people, I think. Which is what make me anomaly on planet Earth. For better or for worse, one pillar cannot hold up the roof; for better or for worse, I work best in teams, not as an individual.
But it's a sad, lonely world out there, where personal success (and touting it, and purusuing it) is the norm. I know, some subscribe to the 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours', but how many of those stay around after you have scratched their back? Or how many actually stay as long as you did? Like it or not, even just scratching backs require black and white these days, or else people will be jumping on you and saying, "Your expectations are too high".
I am not going to make a career out of my passions. For now. My passions are - game design, production, and anything related to creatively creating. Sometimes, when your passions become jobs, you lose your cool, perspective and etc, which is something frowned up by prim and proper Singaporeans (and most coporate types, which sadly, are most likely to be in charge of my promotion and coffer).
I be going into related fields though, like VR, simulations or e-learning, where ego games mean nothing to me and getting my own job well done is probably enough for me. Am I submitting to the evils of this world? Funny, I thought I am just trying to fit into society, think postitvely and etc ad nasuem. You can't just please all people all the time.
So I am going to do what I am probably good at - common programming and web applications. Tester, level designer or something gritty. I reserve my dreams for designing games to weekends and free times, thank you very much.
I am doing some good things. Let me sign off by I am returning to the roots of my passions. No flash-bang graphics, just gameplay. No coordination of big groups of people, just myself and a couple of friends. No more begging people for their weekends and free time - honestly, I have enough of that. And I only reserve my time for people who appreciate it.
Why I am being so negative here? Dude, this is what I am! I desist people who put up a front and disappears once they get what they want or when it doesn't serve them well anymore. If anything I have written above is a deal-breaker. hey, at least you know it without having to spend six months trying to be my good friend, only to say farewell with a "I am disappointed with you" when I am not as useful or helpful or become a hinderance in your life.
Yeah, I know that won't earn me any friends. But how many have I kept so far? How many are for real?
First, to thyself be true...Yeah, I am an idealist. Shoot me.
(I also know that putting this up may decrease my chances of getting a job. But hey, this is me. My personality, outlook, values and principles would eventually ooze out, so why not just make it clear upfront?)
Thursday, October 02, 2008
A paradox
When I am being pessimistic, I am too negative.
When I am being optimistic, my expectations are too high.
When others are busy, I am told to be understanding.
When I am busy, I am selfish.
When others have problems, they're the king of the world.
When I have problems, I am told others have them too.
When others promise, they are just "saying only"
When I promise, I am obliged.
When others put themselves first, I am told to be considerate.
When I put myself first, I am told that I don't care about others.
When others want to take a break, it's their right to do so.
When I want to take a break, everyone comes after me.
When others concentrate on their stuff, they are being 'career-minded'
When I want to concentrate on my own stuff, I am being "self-centered"
When I keeping speak aloud, about what's bothering me, I am being aggressive.
When I keep quiet about what's bothering me, I am being passive aggressive.
When I take an active stance, I am "playing politics"
When I am laid back, I am "not being proactive"
When I am contributing, others don't even blink an eye.
When I stop contributing, everyone jumped on me.
When I help others, I shouldn't expect anything
If others help me, I got to pay them.
What a strange, strange world that I live in.
When I am being optimistic, my expectations are too high.
When others are busy, I am told to be understanding.
When I am busy, I am selfish.
When others have problems, they're the king of the world.
When I have problems, I am told others have them too.
When others promise, they are just "saying only"
When I promise, I am obliged.
When others put themselves first, I am told to be considerate.
When I put myself first, I am told that I don't care about others.
When others want to take a break, it's their right to do so.
When I want to take a break, everyone comes after me.
When others concentrate on their stuff, they are being 'career-minded'
When I want to concentrate on my own stuff, I am being "self-centered"
When I keeping speak aloud, about what's bothering me, I am being aggressive.
When I keep quiet about what's bothering me, I am being passive aggressive.
When I take an active stance, I am "playing politics"
When I am laid back, I am "not being proactive"
When I am contributing, others don't even blink an eye.
When I stop contributing, everyone jumped on me.
When I help others, I shouldn't expect anything
If others help me, I got to pay them.
What a strange, strange world that I live in.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Downloads should Download
The Tao of Games Development is simple but not easy, accessible but deep, still but engulfing.
A Novice of Casual Games come to the Bamboo Sage of the Three Mile Pavilion, seeking his advice. "O Master," the Novice cried out. "I have devise a casual games so casual that anyone from the end of the empire to the other could play it. The controls is simple; the gameplay elegant, the graphics astounding. I put up a free to try demo as many other Casual Games Portal does. But I have no sales?"
Setting down his bamboo carving knife, the Bamboo Sage smiled and said, "Show me your site". Upon coming to the site, the Sage clicked on the "Download Trial" button, but it only returns to the same page.
A gong that is not knocked makes no sound; the Qin only stirs in the wind; a casual game that cannot be downloaded cannot win the hearts of men.
A Novice of Casual Games come to the Bamboo Sage of the Three Mile Pavilion, seeking his advice. "O Master," the Novice cried out. "I have devise a casual games so casual that anyone from the end of the empire to the other could play it. The controls is simple; the gameplay elegant, the graphics astounding. I put up a free to try demo as many other Casual Games Portal does. But I have no sales?"
Setting down his bamboo carving knife, the Bamboo Sage smiled and said, "Show me your site". Upon coming to the site, the Sage clicked on the "Download Trial" button, but it only returns to the same page.
A gong that is not knocked makes no sound; the Qin only stirs in the wind; a casual game that cannot be downloaded cannot win the hearts of men.
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