If you take the song I Swear by Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside and replace the lyrics so it fits in with the world of video games instead of music. The “just don’t care” and “what is this bullshit” functionality of the song fits in with the world of games more then the world of music. Especially when the world of music is recovering, where are gaming is retreating into a more and more “what the hell” universe.
Lets take for example the upcoming generation, the furious battle between the 3DS, NGP and quite possibly the current generation consoles with their tacked on Kinect and Move as well as Nintendos new Cafe. Now tell me, if we look at the line ups of the handhelds especially, all we see is remakes of older games, ports of their console counter parts and well just plan the same old crap.
Lets look at the games I’m excited for coming out this year, and you will find the same thing- looking around the edge of the industry in obscure indie developers leads also the same results. Nothing really is coming out.
It’s a blunt year, as well as blunt start to a generation.
So this thing called a First Person Shooter, has molded into well basicly one game. As bland and unknowladgble as that sounds, it seems to be the truth for much more genures then just that.
I love the Tasmanian Tiger, and elusive animal which has died out long since I was born. The Thylacine is what happens when a Numbat and a Tasmanian Devil mate, okay not really- it is more of a marsupial Dingo which would rip your head off if you where to find out. Said to be extinct its long been thought that it does still inhabit the deeper regions of Tasmania feeding off the flesh of wary hitchhikers.
If you where to read up about our friend on Wikipedia, you will find it full of conflicting reports. Showing a devastating time in Australian History where a animal as awesome as it, could easily be passed out as a chicken soup. Though one interesting fact, which isn’t disputed about the legendary animal, is its pouch on all sex policy, which in the males, protects its junk when running through the trees.
So the last known wild one of these beasts was killed in the 30s, with the captive ones ending their life in the late 30s. It seems kind of disgusting, that the animal disappeared like that. However, maybe the animal still exists, with a range of unconfirmed sitings, its now got a reputation that of the Lockness monster. However this one we know existed once. So maybe it will again?
The reports of where this animal may lie range from been on one side of Tasmania, around Cradle Mountain to been on the other side, in Pyengana. Even some not even in Australia, but in Puncak Jaya in New Guinea.
However where ever this animal is, if it still exists is probably not there. However Tasmania at the end of the day is pretty much a big bad forest, which the animal could hide in no doubt if it didn’t want to be found. However in 2011, many years after it has been long forgotten, you would think if it was around, its population would of increased to a point more sightings where much more possible. Its possibly more likely, the animal exists, in a DNA test tube in some laboratory.
I always think it would be fun to explore Tasmania, with the goal in mind of looking for the animal. It may not be found, but it would be an amazing journey into the heart of the land.
Looking at my sites, both past and present- there is a horrible underlying issue which says “yuck”, it is a principle which has extended and stuck to the site and become a bad stigma. That is- does this site design wise function.
The site has seen many designs in the past few years. When I say many, I mean at one stage- a new one each week. This became a problem, and if you have been a regular visitor the past year you would notice it has been less and less. New designs have been more on the back burner of problems which the site faces, mainly now more content wise, then design wise.
But that does not mean the design should be forgotten. With the design in 2011, the site developed an interesting design language. One which functions how the blog posts are written, and how the site looks to the over all user.
For years I’ve developed for my own use, more simple and arguably elegant designs which embody the site. Especially in the the early years these changes had been more helpful and useful not for the visitor, but for me. Something people would notice is that most of the designs in the rush which featured many each month is that the designs each featured something unique. Different techniques on how the overall site is presented to the user, and while slight changes, they helped grow the knowledge of how to develop the site further.
With the back story done its time to move on almost. This design has been around for good while. It needs to evolve as they say. Slight changes which eventually over the years it becomes a new design. A style which has been more recently the way new designs have been performed so the user can get to know the changes before they happen. However any changes I feel like doing in that regard later will be purely navigational for now.
The site embodies a simple layout. But is it really that simple?
Each article has a banner. With the banner representative of the color theme. With each image in the banner blurred in various ways. However some are different, some break this rule and are mainly ones which I show images to the article, you see the images in article idea is something the site avoids, however sometimes the articles need an image in the article, and there has never been an efficient way coded in this particular design. So there is one strike against this design already.
Secondly is the navigation. It has been a style which has been in previous designs used on the site and features less intrusive style then before. It is a simple list which has the categories on the site, and then a more tab. It works. It’s not a strike its a plus for this design. It’s the only thing which centres itself as a prominent delicate hold to the site which shakes the rest like a wet towel if it has anything else wrong with it. This navigation controls the style the rest of the site has to put up with.
The footer is also plain, and the pages within the site which are not posts are not really straddled to any design either.
So ask me again, does this design work? My answer will be yes and no. It works for the fact it is an obvious evolution to what has always been pushed for this site. As a personal blog, it has always been a design style which is simple and not very graphical orientated. However on the flip side it has issues which where clearly related to it been a rushed design.
Within the world of video games, there has always been a clear respect from fan boys of the competing sides for Nintendo. The companies ability to produce new and interesting experiences over and over again. With their consoles bought mainly for their own games, and not third party content.
But are we approaching an era where the Nintendo magic is gone. The creative thinking design which ensures endless consoles sold, even if they loose top spot to other companies in the hardware market.
If we look at the next generation only, we see currently disappointing titles from them. Steel Diver, been a disgraceful shell of solid concept and leaking shallow quality. With Pilot Wings, been a port of essentially the Wii Sports mini game, rather then that of the original title. If we scale back a generation to the current generation just ending. We see while a successful and interesting concept with the console and a few select Wii titled games. We all so see disappointment with titles.
If we remove ourselves from the generation guide lines and look at series. We can see that Zelda isn’t all it used to be. As well as other select Nintendo franchises. Zelda for example, in the past few entries, has been a shallow form of what it once was. No longer and expression of exploration and distinct dungeons, the series riddles itself to gimmicks and procreation of scaled down efforts. Looking at Animal Crossing, we see the series has become- lets be honest, just ports of the previous game with a few things shoved around. Then we have Mario Kart, which while I enjoyed the Wii version- more hardcore fans of the series, see the Wii version as a mockery of everything the series stood for.
Could this feeling of abandonment also have come from the blue ocean theory. Which Nintendo straddled after the Game Cube and took a few steps back to observe unnoticed markets, primary the casual market. Now the blue ocean is the “hardcore” arena again- will the games step up in quality? Is the observation of horrible titles only because they are simply “not for you”.