Shrink Wrap

Links

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:10:00 +0000

Evolution of Game Controllers - Very cool. Moreover, I always found interesting that some controller designs allowed the devices to be used normally by left-handed people (i.e. Atari Lynx, Nintendo Virtual Boy, and now the Nintendo Wii). Also, Sony seems to be stuck with their original Playstation controller design…
HTTP Client - Useful.
World of Goo - Amazing little game, beautifully animated and brilliantly designed.
Balloon Tales - Bought some great looking comic fonts from Comicraft at the annual font sale ($600+ worth of fonts for $80), and found this great site in the process. Great tips.

I am Andrew Ryan, and I’m here to ask you a question: Is a...

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:21:47 +0000

I am Andrew Ryan, and I’m here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone. I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well. - Andrew Ryan

BioShock

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:19:00 +0000

It is not just another game with awesome graphics thrown in, it’s much more than that, it’s an experience - it makes you feel, disturbed mostly, and makes you think about what happened to Rapture: Politics, science, ethics and morality. But it doesn’t end there, as the player also has a moral choice to make: To harvest ADAM¹ from the little sisters - creepy little girls that recycle ADAM from the dead - and kill them in the process, or save them by killing the parasite inside, gaining much less ADAM making you less powerful. Tough choice.

There are few games with as much substance as BioShock. If you haven’t played it already and you have an XBox or a PS3, you really should play it.

¹ ADAM are stem cells, produced by an underwater slug, that allows genetic mutations.

There is also a cool PDF with the game’s art and concepts. Get it here (bottom of the page).

Photo

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:24:23 +0000

Gears of War, Hell yeah!

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:41:00 +0000

I spent the entire afternoon playing Gears of War (the first). It’s like being in a bad war/action movie - bad actors, badass characters, big weapons, lots of blood, cheesy lines and all - but hey, the formula works really well with a video game.

The berserker part on the end of Act 1, scared the shit out of me.

Loving it.

Assassin’s Creed is an excellent game: the cities are...

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:31:43 +0000

Assassin’s Creed is an excellent game: the cities are enormous, alive and really well modelized - being a joy to explore, the gameplay is good, the main character (Altaïr) is stylish and charismatic. Now, where are those Templars?

XBox 360

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:03:00 +0000

So, I bought an XBox. Yes, from Microsoft! And I’m having a lot of fun with it.

I grabbed 4 “discount” games to begin: Assassin’s Creed, Gears of War, Halo 3 and Bioshock. I started playing Assassin’s Creed, and I’m loving it. Quietly slicing guards throats is awesome…

Not Dead...

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:35:20 +0000

…just busy. ;)

Leica Digilux 3

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:14:03 +0100

Always liked Leicas, they’re so simple and yet very powerful. Unfortunately I don’t own one, but I spend several hours reading and watching vintage Leicas on the net. I am absolutely fascinated by them.

Now, about the Digilux 3: In my opinion the most beautiful camera ever. Yes, I know, it’s not a pure breed Leica, it’s made from a Panasonic (the Lumix DMC-L1), but I still love its looks: drop-dead gorgeous.

The Leica Digilux 3.

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:13:36 +0100

The Leica Digilux 3.

Very cool Apple prototypes.

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:05:00 +0100

Very cool Apple prototypes.

Pure Pixar magic.

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:16:56 +0100

Pure Pixar magic.

Wall-E

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:15:00 +0100

Wall-E was finally released in Portugal. What a beautiful masterpiece, it’s perfect in almost ¹ every aspect: Storytelling, Cinematically, Humor and Technically. Full of subtle (and not-so-subtle) jokes and references, like for instance: 2001 A Space Odyssey, Aliens, ET, Fawlty Towers, Apple and more. I’m sure that if I see it again I will catch more delicious references.

The best movie of the year.

¹ Let me explain the “almost” word, it’s not negative in any way, it’s the other way around actually: The wizards at Pixar even emulated the behavior/imperfections of 35mm anamorphic lenses (barrel distortion, depth of field…) to get that 60’s or 70’s scifi movie look. Again: Brilliant.

Went to the comic store to get Watchmen, but it was sold out. So...

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:25:00 +0100

Went to the comic store to get Watchmen, but it was sold out. So instead bought The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (also from Alan Moore) and The Ultimates 3 #4 (pencils by Joe Madureira).

The rumors about the iPod returning to a slim factor, remembered...

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:10:54 +0100

The rumors about the iPod returning to a slim factor, remembered me of a mockup I made months ago…

Best Joker. Ever!

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:26:56 +0100

Best Joker. Ever!