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Monday, October 26, 2009 DJ Hero is going to be awesome. Listening to: Nothing. 
I stopped by a Fry's this afternoon and noticed that they had the DJ Hero demo setup in the video game section. Not having actually tried out the demo yet, I jumped on and experienced it firsthand. The first thing I realized was that playing the game on the little DJ controller felt a lot less embarrassing when compared to picking up a plastic guitar for the same purpose. Secondly, the mashup that played (Marvin Gaye vs. Gorillaz) was amazing and blew my mind. You see, it was no longer the novelty of "playing music" to your favorite songs, but rather experiencing your favorite songs in a completely new way. It wasn't just a new physical experience, but a completely new aural experience as well. I'm pretty sure that once these songs get played over and over again, I'll feel the same way about them as I do about the Guitar Hero/Rock Band roster of songs. However, for the time being, DJ Hero is at the advantage of having completely new music paired up with the new control scheme. The controller felt nice. The turntable had some weight to it and pulling off things on the medium difficulty didn't seem too taxing, yet offered a decent amount of challenge. The fader was also an interesting touch. I'm still getting used to the idea of how it works, but it felt responsive enough. I liked how they added the "center position" for the fader, even though that is opposite of how a fader on a real mixer feels, as that type of precision is required in a game that offers no leniency in order to score points. All in all, I'm very excited about its release this week. I plan on scratching my way to eternal bliss very soon. Related Link: DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 5:30 AM Permalink | | Saturday, October 24, 2009 I beat Brutal Legend... finally. Listening to: The Beatles - Hold Me Tight 
I beat Brutal Legend this afternoon. I had planned on doing some personal work after the morning errands of Target and laundry, but sat down in front of the television to try and beat this thing once and for all. The level that had been giving me trouble was the Sea of Black Tears RTS level. Yes, I've been having "some trouble" completing this game. I had been playing (and failing) this particular level six times before jumping on my soapbox and proclaiming the ridiculousness of the game's RTS levels. I complained to my coworkers. I complained to my pillow. To summarize, I disliked the RTS levels. I disliked them a lot. I beat them because I had to in order to progress through the hilarious story. Now don't get me wrong, Brutal Legend as an entire package is fantastic. The world that the Double Fine team crafted was amazing and it really drew me in like a dangerous rip in the fabric of time. The melee combat was fun enough and it just oozed metal charm. It was just those damned RTS levels... Anyway. I beat it today. It took a good two and a half hours. It's 3:30pm and I have about half an hour to try to get some work done before Josie comes home. It was worth it though. Related Link: Brutal Legend for the Xbox360 posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 3:27 PM Permalink | | Wednesday, October 21, 2009 MochiLand Comics Listening to: Nothing. 
I've decided to go and start a webcomic for Mochimedia, the little company that I work for. I got the idea after meeting Scott C. over at the Double Fine booth at APE this past weekend. I mean, why not, right? Anything that gives me an excuse to draw comics should be met with open arms and a hot cup of cocoa. Expect an update every weekday morning. Related Link: MochiLand Comics posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 11:22 AM Permalink | | 1980s Suntory Beer Commercial Listening to: Nothing. I've really got nothing else to say that could possibly add to this video. Related Link: Suntory Time posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 5:30 AM Permalink | | Tuesday, October 20, 2009 APE 2009 - Success! Listening to: Nothing. 
This year's APE was quite a success... and by success I mean I was able to make back my table and then some. I have some zines left over and will put them up in the store shortly. Man, I'm tired and I think I have a slight stomach bug. BOO. Wait, I mean "poo". Related Link: Wandering Panda Store posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 9:40 AM Permalink | | Friday, October 16, 2009 Alternative Press Expo 2009 Listening to: Parachute - The Mess I Made 
The Alternative Press Expo is coming around again and I'll be having a table in the same spot as last year! I will be selling comics (Gashapon Shop Collection and Mr. Goh - Volume 1), zines (Robot in the City #1, Mr. Goh #2), plush toys (Robot in the City plushie), Little Woodbots (I have four from last year left) and holding a raffle for free toys (Mighty Muggs - Marvel). I may also be able to put together a few original frames pieces as a demo for Blind Box Art. I will be at table #432. It is $10 for one day, $15 for both. If you have your Comic-Con 2009 badge, it's free! Hope to see you there! 11am - 7pm Sunday, Oct. 18 11am - 6pm The Concourse 620 7th Street San Francisco (directions) Related Link: APE 2009 Information posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 2:52 PM Permalink | | Tuesday, October 13, 2009 The Hershel Engine Debut Listening to: Nothing. 
Today is when I debut the Hershel Engine! It's something I built in Flash that will help me create dialogue driven games, like all of the non-puzzle portions of Professor Layton games or the examination portions of Phoenix Wright games. Some may argue that those are the boring parts of the game, but I find them interesting. I like seeing what the story holds. It's essentially a choose your own adventure type of game engine. It actually took me a long while to get all the components working. One thing I realized while working on this engine was that a game that is driven by dialogue, but also contains items and locations, can get very messy very quickly. My spreadsheets have helped, but need some refinement to make the entire process more streamlined. It's a learning process and I can only imagine on building upon the engine more and more. Of course, when I say "engine", it should be loosely interpreted. If I were to release it, it'd be nothing more than a .FLA file that someone would have to go and edit to their specifications. I'm not quite learned in the way of Flash to make this into an importable library, as some of the portions are still hard coded with the actual elements on stage within the IDE. Anyhow, progress to be made! You can check out the very short demo at Shen Games. The next adventure built with the engine will actually be more fleshed out. I'm hoping somewhere in the line of a lunch break. Related Link: How the Muni Stole $75 From Me on Shen Games posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 5:30 AM Permalink | | Sunday, October 11, 2009 Hey... I want a mustache. Listening to: Nothing. I think the closest Sonic Drive-In is about 30 minutes away from here. I just don't know if I can justify the drive. I probably can't. Related Link: Sonic, America's Drive-In posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:53 AM Permalink | | Thursday, October 8, 2009 I Don't Know Much Listening to: Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville - Don't Know Much If I ever make a commercial, I will hire the first man to be in it. That or I will hire Ken Jeong... who looks suspiciously like the gentleman in the beginning of this video. I had no idea aviation was even 20% as interesting as this commercial makes it seem. Related Link: The Kims of Comedy posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:25 PM Permalink | | Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Shen Games Update / Abandoned Project: Ikuze Listening to: Nothing. 
I did a little housecleaning over at the Shen Games site by changing the side menu into a top menu instead. It seemed appropriate. I like the way it feels now and the games catalog feels a bit more spread out with more room to breathe. I also decided to be a bit more candid and open about my development process and the things that I'm working on. What falls into "things I'm working on" also includes projects that I've abandoned. I feel that as a person who makes things that it's also important to look into the works of others. From that work you will see those things that eventually became a finished product or those that became forgotten. There are great lessons to learn from both. Ikuze is such a product of the latter category. You should check it out to see a working demo of the project. I got a strike of lightning on the train ride home, and eagerly anticipate development for that game soon. Related Link: Play Ikuze posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:44 PM Permalink | | Homeless People Have a Lot of Hair Listening to: David Tao - Regular Friends 
I was walking to work and passed by a relatively grizzly looking homeless man. After a short moment of rampant eye-avoidance and talking into my imaginary cellphone, a thought creeped itself across my brain. That homeless man sure had a lot of hair. Then I started thinking about the roster of homeless people I've passed by (regulars who hang out by the Bart station, for example) in my entire life and their hair situation. Much more often than not, they had fulls heads of hair. They also happened to have full beards as well. They were wild and untamed, like their hearts. I'm not sure if there's some kind of scientific correlation to all of this, but it's just something to think about. Perhaps it can be a conversation starter the next time you're out with a date and you're reached that awkward moment between "ordering" and "waiting for the food to arrive". Yuck! So awkward! Related Link: Rogaine for Men Hair Regrowth Treatment posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 11:06 AM Permalink | | Sunday, October 4, 2009 I got me one of them iPhone things. Listening to: Nothing. 
I went and upgraded my phone today to one of those neat iPhone things that all the moms and cool kids have. It's quite a fancy device, if I may say so myself. It can do all sorts of things like tell you which cardinal direction you're going or what the weather is in a nearby town. It's got all these fancy applications too that let you mark which restaurants you've been to or translate Japanese into English. Truly a device from the future... today! I think it makes phone calls too, but I haven't figured that part out yet. Related Link: Apple's iPhone posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 9:56 PM Permalink | | Saturday, October 3, 2009 San Jose "Rock 'n' Roll" 1/2 Marathon! Listening to: Nothing. 
So, the San Jose "Rock 'n' Roll" 1/2 Marathon is tomorrow! This will be the first physical anything that I'll be competing in and it's pretty gosh darned exciting. Well, "competing" isn't the right word here. I'm not trying to actually win the race, per se. I'm more interested in finishing, getting my little medal and stealing all of the bananas. In any case, for anyone who is interested in following the event, you can track my progress (and the progress of anyone else you may know) on their website: here. This is the information you need: Bib Number: 9136 Name: Alexander Shen Woo! Blisters! If you don't see me on Monday, you'll probably know why. Related Link: Live Results for the San Jose "Rock 'n' Roll" 1/2 Marathon posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:47 PM Permalink | | Friday, October 2, 2009 Going the Distance - Released Listening to: David Choi - Won't Even Start 
It's been a few weeks in development, but Going the Distance has finally been released! You can go play it over at RadioSox.com, a portal that a few coworkers are running. Like the last game release, I've also made a wallpaper for the game (as seen above). Feel free to check out the game and download the wallpaper and spread the news! Play the Game: Going the Distance on Radiosox.com Wallpaper: 1280 x 960 Wallpaper Digg It: Digg posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 3:35 PM Permalink | | Thursday, October 1, 2009 Mame-shiba - Greatest Thing Today Listening to: Nothing. I have learned that I will eat my vegetables and fruits more furiously than I have before because of these videos and facts contained within. Cute overload. Puke. Related Link: Mame-shiba Website (it's in Japanese) posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 3:10 PM Permalink | | |
       
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