A TV Series entirely in 16bit pixel art? :: Code Monkeys

Well i would be Referring to Code Monkeys of course...
   Code Monkey's was a early  tv series created and aired on G4 tv,  the show's main premise was to appeal to gamers, especially ones who remembered the good old days.  The show is entirely in pixel art and is based around 2 very early video game designers in the 1980's.  Before you start thinking this is a kids show just because it is a cartoon, think again.  Sex , Drugs, Hitler, and a good amount of violence are ever present themes in most episodes.  The tv-show aired for 2 seasons before it got shut down due to low viewer ratings...probably because they aired the show like once a god damn week.  Episodes include tons of easter eggs referring to just about every popular video game from super mario all the way down to pong.  This show was created for gamers and only gamers :)

not a lot of great clips of the show on youtube, so here is the best i could find : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWuc5fwxdBw&feature=channel

RIFT- New MMORPG

Ok im done blogging on mmorpgs, this is only my second, but it will be at least 4-5 months until another decent one is released, but there are still a good bunch of older ones still played. But more to the point RIFT has finally come out of beta, and is blitzkrieging the game market.  Comparable to World of Warcraft this game takes place in a world with 2 different factions, The Defiant and the The Guardians.  There both enemys fighting against a common threat to the whole world, Rifts have opened up across the world that release demons upon the land. You will be wandering the world and a portal will randomly open up somewhere in the world, Demons come down from it attacking everything they can.  What separates rift from most games is that the "rifts" can release enough enemys and attacks to actually take over the capitol citys and settlements.  The rifts send out attack forces upon the world at random times and can take over towns and use them as there own bases.  In RIFT there is a actually a threat in the world, in wow there is nothing comparable to this.   But unfortunitly that is about is it, adding in a new aspect it is a another questing/hack'n/slash'n mmo.   If you are mmo-less you should pick this up, it is a beautiful game with a good player base.  But if you are currently playing Wow,Lotro,Cabal,Maplestory,etc... you should stick with those.  This is another mmo, 9/10 stars.  Not eneough new elements.

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Clever Life hacks

35 clever life hacks, you've probably seen before though

How to win at rock paper scissors

Found this very amuzing/helpful-taking no credit for pic

Recording Video Game's, Tutorial for Consoles and PC's

VIDEO GAME CONSOLE -

STEP 1 : Get the Dazzle recorder, it is around 50$ but can easily pay for itself if you got hit videos.

STEP 2: Get some AV cables..(under 5$ most places) this is for the dazzle

Step 3: Plug the AV cables into your dazzle, and plug the other side into your tv

Step 4: Plug the usb cord from your dazzle into your computer

Step 5: Have your game system plugged into your tv

Step 6: Dazzle software installation, than your ready to start recording your console games

NOTE : MAKE SURE YOU TV HAS MULTIPLE AV PORTS

RECORDING PC GAMES:
           
         STEP 1: Get a video recording program, there are some great free ones such as

• Game Cam -Great to start with
• Taksi - a open source version of fraps - have not myself tried it though
• WeGame.com 

FRAPS (which is free for 30 second videos) full edition is a couple dollars, but is by far best out there in terms of programs, i use it personally 

STEP 2: Not everyone knows that video recording can take up huge amounts of space, for instance my recording of minecraft that was a few minutes was a couple gb. Make sure you have proper memory 

STEP 3: Video recording uses a good amount of your computers resources, Unless your showing off this games graphics only, i would tone it down to normal unless you have a good gaming computer.  (this is not really optional, you will experience lag, audio misplacement, video errors if comp freezes)

STEP 4: Once you edited the program to how you like start the program, check what button you have to push to start recording, than keep program running and minamize. Start your game, press the record button and your good to go ( make sure it is not a common button, ive gamed a whole day once and pressed it throughout without knowing, tons upon tons of videos/unused space)

STEP 5: Look at the program and see where the output directory is , Go to said directory and you should see your video, now you need a editing program. WINDOWS LIVE MOVIE MAKER, is great, windows actually made a decent free program, if you do not have windows, than look up free video editors here are a couple :

• Apple iMovie
• Avid FreeDV
• Wax
• Zwei-Stein
• Microsoft Movie Maker (what i use)

Step 6: After you have edited your video, it will be ready for uploading, But youtube has a size limit, I use LEAWO AVI CONVERTER , its free , and converts your video to .avi and decreases size by a ton, increases quality, and is a common video type for youtube.  Also this program does not put a nasty watermark on your video.

STEP 7: upload to youtube or whatever site you want to use

Hope this helped, i was rather lost when i first started a few months ago
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Want to learn Japanese?

    I have 4 years of Japanese under my belt from highschool and college, still 3 more years of college japanese to go but school can only teach you so much. Elementary Japanese by Yoko Hasegawa actually tought me a good amount of japanese.  Classes in school are good, but the teachers have to teach you a set curriculum that does not teach you how to speak japanese, it teaches you how to pass end of year final in japanese. Other books are also acceptable, but they introduce kanji/katakana/hiragana very fast and write the rest of the whole book in only that introducing new kanji characters and expecting you to instantly memorize it, People are not going to pick up on Katakana / hiragana instantly this book slowly introduces it. This book teaches you basically how to speak normal daily japanese. Starting from the very basics it teaches you how to read Hiragana, Katakana, and throws in some kanji in the early chapters, but the main goal of those chapters is to actually learn the language. Throughout the book it slowly gives you more and more kanji/katakana/hiragana to the point where you will know  a decent amount by the time you finish.  Finishing the book i still have to look up some kanji, But i know hiragana, katakana, about 200 more kanji that school didnt teach me. Also how to actually keep a on going conversation going in japanese without having to think for a moment about what to say. Instead of giving you only variables to put into a equation like school this book gives you pre made sentences that are very common in the language, But Also after words teaches you how to conjugate words to make your own sentences.  So if you want to learn about as much japanese as a 2nd/3rd grader in japan knows pick up this book. Also PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.  In my free time i visit web forums and just talk in very basic simple sentences the more you do it the less you will forget and the easier it will become.

Also if you want help with your japanese, or some basic guides/websites feel free to ask and i will put out some links for you to websites with flashcards/web boards.  I also know a chunk myself so i can answer most of your questions.

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Hellsing

I know what you are thinking another anime nerd from washington, But seriosly guys this is amazing. Even if you hate anime (even though its awesome) you will like this .  It is about a Alpha Vampire named  Alucard Who is working in secret with the British government to destroy and cover up people who have become vampires in recent years.  Blood & Gore are everywhere in this show,  Alucard carrys a 35 pound pistol that can blow a whole in a person the size of a basketball, But if that doesnt work he will just rip off a body part piece by piece.  This is a very well thought out Anime, 13 episodes i believe is what it came out to be.   It starts with Alucard hiring a new recruit who has to learn to deal with her new fetish for drinking and aquiring blood.  Even though there are massive amounts of Blood & Gore the story is quiet amazing, I guarentee you will put this in your cowboy bebop Tier.

X3 - Terran Conflict 2.0 Aldrin Missions

       Have you ever wanted to have a open world, custom enviroment, limitless reach space game ? Well this game is all of that and more, It is a singleplayer Space simulator.   You start out in first person view in a small space ship near a trading port with a small amount of money. You slowly trade and build up yourself to the point where you are the Domninating power in the universe.  Hundreds of Customizable ships, Thousands of items and upgrades, And a AI that is similar to Oblivions, Each other ship has its needs and permissions and jobs that it needs to accomplish, Making the enviroment in this game the closest to perfect space sim currently available.  You can own your own space stations, Captiol Ships, And hire other ships to trade for you after a point and make your own company. Think EVE online but better, You can actually own and control parts of the enviroment. This is a big step game and it has been pulled off very well.  The only thing that is bad is that it lacks multiplayer, but the positive is that the community is very nice and is still thriving. If you have questions ask because i want other people to enjoy this pearl of a game. Also This is the last release, released in 2009, so not to old of a game.  Excellent graphics comparing with EVE online...set to ultra you will see sir.
http://www.egosoft.com/community/news_en.php   ---- Link to the forum/main website.

Final Fantasy 10

Lately i have been overwhelmed by the urge to play final fantasy. i thought i would start with one of the greats number 10. Final Fantasy 10 is divided into 2 parts, FFX and FFX2 or X2 for short. This game even though it is a little old graphics wise still stands up to modern game play. The storyline and character depth is beautiful. The game takes hours upon hours to complete but it is completely worth it.  The cinematic in this game are also part of the drive to finish it, The plot hooks you in with showing you some of the best cutscenese ive ever seen. Especially for the time this game was released.  Also the one thing that stands out about this game is its leveling system. It uses something called a sphere grid instead of levels. There are multiple paths you can take and all cost a certain amount of expierence, think of it like a talent build. The way it is done in this game was obviously dont by a good game crafter  / planner. Anyways if you haven't played look FFX up on youtube and just watch the opening cut scene i guarantee you will be hooked.

Dwarf Fortress

Dwarf fortress is not a game for amatuers. It requires a vast amount of knowledge. The game itself is run in ascii with various tile texture packs. The game takes you to a randomly generated world with 7 seven dwarves.Each has there own specific and unique bio / history. You get to pick a set amount of supplies to bring with , almost like the oregon trail game from elementary school. Once you arrive you can build Mighty fortress that can fend off goblin sieges, Battle Steel dragons and see a complete ascii based simulation fight.  This game is probably the best game ever released. The only issue is playabylity, the control sceme is rather advanced and unless you are used to rogue like games the ascii is going to be hard to look past. But if you can get into this game it is probably going to be one of your favorite's. The amount of things you can do is endless, and your dwarves do most of the work for you which is always nice

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Minecraft, A game gone Global

      Have you ever wanted to live off the land on your own? Have you ever thought to yourself "hmm night time scares the Shit out of me" , Have you ever wanted to recreate a video game map Inside a video game ? than this game if for you. Minecraft a indie game gone well universal. It revolves around you the user starting in a randomly generated war with just you and your brain. You have to chop down trees to make tools, Mine for resources below the earth, And make a shelter wherver you see fit. There are a endless amount of possibilities in the world of minecraft. There is almost nothing you cannot do. In fact with the variety of blocks and openess of the world ...( mineecraft world is 4.5 times the size of our earth)  you can create almost anything. Some things include, 24 bit pictures of your favorite character, castles floating in the sky , Underwater bases only you can find, Mountian homes based off the lord of the rings dwarves, A direct recreation of pokemon reds map, and almost anything else you can think of. Minecraft is run in a blocky enviroment where almost everything is composed of blocks that you the user can manipulate. Below is a picture of the game world.