It seems day one of GDC 2015 is focusing on three things, new game engines, tools and the next step in gamer immersion: Virtual Reality (VR). Without further adieu, my top five articles thus far for day one of GDC 2015.

1. To start off… Unreal 4 Engine is now FREE.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/237724/Unreal_Engine_4_is_now_freetodownload_for_everyone.php

Good news folks, now you can save that subscription money and buy more cups of noodles! For anyone interested or wanting to get into game development, this is a great way to learn how to work with a full game engine from mobile to triple A. For developers, there isn’t much change monetarily but as the article mentions, its uses are starting to branch out from just games. With a possibility of a grant as well, I feel as though Epic is giving creativity and ingenuity a chance to shine again.

2. Unity 5 is a go!

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/37032/20150303/gdc-2015-unity-5-engine-has-officially-been-released.htm

It seems like yesterday that I was a sleep deprived college student working a part time job at the time while working on my first full project in Unity. It has definitely evolved since then. Being popular among the mobile and indie community, it is great to see progress that can match the growing power of hardware. Although not as pretty as Unreal, it offers a great package for professional and personal use.

3. Hot off the press! Valve’s Source 2 engine!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/04/gdc-2015-valve-announces-source-2-engine

Another engine that will be offered for free, Valve is finally coming out with the successor to it’s current engine. After a long run of about 11 years now, Source 2 will hopefully bring a new era of games from Valve and other developers to our lovable Steam. Hell, maybe we’ll see Half Life 3, Portal 3, Left 4 Dead 3 or how about Team Fortress 3? At this point we can all hope this announcement leads to more for E3!

4. Project Morpheus, is it the One?

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/03/liveblog-sony-talks-morpheus-vr-at-gdc-2015/

Probably not. However, the recent prototype shows that Sony is definitely not fooling around and with Sony expecting a consumer version in the first half of next year to be released, the next level of games is closer than we think. My hope is that all that sweet hardware and software within the PS4 will finally be used to it’s fullest. It would be a shame to see the PS4 go the way of the Dreamcast. Next year will certainly be an important one for the Sony. However, with the release of a demo for Final Fantasy XV and an anticipated Uncharted 4 later this year I think Sony will be able to hold quite steady until then.

5. Valve and HTC take the first stab at VR.

http://www.cnet.com/products/htc-vive-developer-edition/

While we have to wait another year for Sony’s Morpheus to get into our hands, Valve and HTC have teamed up to bring you the VR experience by Christmas! No it isn’t an accessory to your smartphone but one for your PC. Currently promising good controls, a full room VR experience and content such as Steam, HBO, etc. with various partners. I have to wonder though, is it more of an entertainment or gaming experience that this is after? Both?

GDC 2015 is in full swing and I hope to hear more soon about day one! Also, looking forward to seeing hands on impressions of the VR sets plus what could Nvidia’s announcement be?

Granted, not all partings are positive. I’m sure their have been some bitter “sayonara!” or “adios MOFOs”. Nonetheless, I think sometimes saying what you mean in the spirit of your true self helps soothe the ripping off the band aid affect of good bye.

Sorry today’s post is short but I’m trying to put things up more frequently or on a regular basis… Plus I start out enthusiastically then start to get bored with my writing. Ha ha!

I wrote a blog about my goals and expectations (somewhat) for the next year, then mentioned how I was thinking about moving to wordpress… I took the plunge!

While I really wanted my own domain, I decided to hold off because I wanted to make it a goal to blog more during this year and as a reward buy my own domain. Therefore, by giving myself more incentive, I’m going to do my best to blog more frequently. I bet you’re all wondering when will this happen, well if you read the past two paragraphs and notice my use of past tense you’ll already know it has happened already!

Now I guess for the question of the hour… Why?

Why did I finally decide to make the switch? Simple really: The app. One of the things I was super excited about when I first started to blog was doing it on the go in quick bursts as I would travel Japan with my smartphone. But I quickly found out that the blogger app was quite limited and not as intuitive as I had thought. Fast forward a couple years later, hopping the blogger app had improved in the time I had not blogged I tried to give it a go once more… sadly nothing had really changed. That’s when I looked at the wordpress app. It was exactly what I wanted. I can upload more than one picture, better link embedding, simple yet highly efficient writing formatting, etc.  So on the days I want to blog but have no computer with me or its too cumbersome to take out, I can use my smartphone. Now I have no excuses!

Yes wordpress lacks space, only giving its free users 3GB, however I can always use flickr as a space to store my photos online to use for my blog. I can also maintain the quality of the photo with flickr, therefore giving you the people the chance to see some of my photos in all their glory (my photos aren’t that great but some of them really do benefit from not having to compress, resize and scale down the resolution).

There you people have it. In the next week or so I will work to make sure that people who go to my blogger site are redirected to the wordpress site. I’m also moving though in the next couple of weeks so there is a good chance that the most you might hear of me is in a few photos. I should probably write a post on moving and also do a video at some point but that’s in the future… Until then, まてね！

I do want to try and at least post up more of my pictures of Japan this year though. As for writing more actual posts… maybe… But hey, if it is any consolation, I might start a Vlog since a friend of mine is actually willing to help with making it because my video making/editing skills are about as good as a elephant trying to peel a banana. Also, I am gearing up for round 2 of being an ALT in Japan so がんばります！！！

2013 was quite an eventful year full of new experiences. I have learned a lot about teaching in another country, culture differences and of course Japanese. I am in no way fluent in Japanese but now I can actually understand parts of a conversation and actually nod my head in agreement rather then in confusion. In any case, my goal this year is to get to the JLPT 4 level of Japanese. In other words, learn enough Japanese to talk to second graders this year.

With all that being said, knowing Japanese is a little helpful but certainly not essential for teaching English. I would say that it is more about HOW you teach rather than a language barrier. Example, you can draw a smiley face on the board point to it then say “Happy” with enthusiasm and most 1st graders will make the connection with the word. I find that it isn’t so much that they have no interest but they don’t get to use it outside of class, therefore as they get older some begin to think, “What’s the point?” As I was saying one evening to some friends, English is becoming more of an international language and it is starting to be increasingly important to know to communicate. I hope in this year to convey that more to my students and give them the ability to express themselves in English.

Looking back on previous journal entries from a year or two ago, I have changed a lot. Quite drastically it seems. I feel that I am not plagued but the uncertainties of life as much as I was before, in a way I have come to accept a lot of things that have and haven’t happened. I feel more grounded. Probably due to the fact that when I was writing in that journal I was basically going through unemployment, drama with love/loss, figuring out what to do next then finding myself again, etc. Now that I have been in Japan for almost a year, I feel at much more peace with myself and that I’m going in a better direction. I think that I have grown up/matured a lot, I have someone to thank a lot for that but I won’t say their name. You know who you are though. 

So what’s next?

Not sure.

I do have things I want to accomplish this year like saving money to possibly move next year to the Kansai/Kanto region, get my TEFL, visit friends in Tokyo, etc. Planning can take you so far, however, you never know where life will take you. I can only prepare and brace for what life throws at me next.

Cheers,
Nathalie

I had decided to join a friend on a small trip to Sendai to pick up his sister. After a full day of training for work in for me and a day of running around doing errands for him in Morioka, we started our journey. Now, getting down there we took the way with no tolls and while we had a small detour it had been quite successful trip to Sendai.

Sendai in my mind is like a mini Tokyo with small traces of western influences. Overall I found it pleasant to walk around, despite the allergies that suddenly flooded my nostrils. After we had found his sister, we ate at Mos Burger and proceeded to make our way back to the little city of Miyako. We decided to drive up the eastern coast since it was only a 4.5 hour drive with no tolls, since he had driven down I offered to drive back up.

Now the rainy season had decided to come in late this year. Instead of May/June of rain, it had been tail end of June and has rained throughout July. Japan, due to its makeup of the soil, is prone to mud slides and sometimes mini floods or raging rivers more so during this time of year. Our first mistake was underestimating the power of mother nature.

3 hours into the drive back home, we encounter a road block. As the worker looks into our car full of surprise to see a group of Gaijin (foreigners) so late at night driving (it was 2am or so I believe), we are informed in broken English and Japanese that the we cannot cross the bridge. The road worker proceeds to then discuss on the radio if anyone knows English in which a loud cry of “EH!?!? EIGO DESU?!?!?!” from his coworkers is heard through the radio. My friend and I chuckle to each other as we over hear them converse about us and saying they haven’t studied English in a while.
At this point there is three different options since we are driving through the mountains, my friend asks the worker in Japanese if we can take a right to go onto the other road. Nope. Now we have two options. At this point, my friend decides to drive because honestly I had been driving slow since it had been my first time driving his car on an unfamiliar path (my driving in Japan is a different story entirely for another time).

We proceed with option two to make a Uturn, back track then try a different route slightly more inland than cross over back to the coastal route. My friend had been up since 6am, making sure his apartment was ready for his sister then driving 2 hours to Morioka to run around to do errands then had driven 4 hours to Sendai. My friend’s sister had been traveling for more than 20 hours. I had been up since 6am had gone into the city early for training all day for work then had proceed to ride along 4 hours to Sendai then drive from there for another 3 hours. I had at the point had my hard contacts (literally fiber glass in my eyes) in for more than 20 hours, one of them had scratched my eye when it had moved earlier thus I was in a lot of pain.

Needless to say, we were all very tired when we hit our second road block.

We were left with only one option, go all the way back inland to the express way and drive up to Morioka then go our usual route to Miyako. While it was nice to see some beautiful scenery in the wee hours of the morning, we honestly could have cared less. Nothing sounded better than sleep.

And that is how a 4.5 hour drive from Sendai became a 7 hour drive.

My first day in Tokyo was, needless to say, quite interesting. As I had mentioned earlier, in an attempt to save money, I decided to walk to Akihabara from Asakusa. Now this is a 30 min. walk with a map, however I wasn’t in any rush to get there thus I decided to just start walking in the direction I thought was Akihabara. I think the best way to get to know a city is getting lost. Especially in Tokyo because if it becomes too much for you just head to the nearest train station, which are everywhere, and you’ll be able to find a subway map or an attendant who can direct you to anywhere in the city. Also 7-11 are good with directions to train stations or major sites. During this time, I discovered that my favorite part of Tokyo is the alley ways. Within these small streets are markets, shrines and restaurants you wouldn’t see by taking the main roads. It brings to mind the poem by Robert Forst in which he says, “I took the road less taken and it has made all the difference.”
Here are some photos of some small alleys in Tokyo:

After about an hour and a half of walking in a general direction, I arrived at Akihabara. Anime or game Otaku, this is the place for you. Now, there is a lot of stuff here but all very packed within a small radius. Again, small alleys have loads of little shops with small figures for $5, card shops FILLED with YuGiOh cards, mini arcades, pachinko, a wall of little machines for phone charms, etc. However, there is nothing like walking into a building with 7 floors of arcade games or everything anime related.
Here are some examples of buildings and such:

I got to go into one of the SEGA arcades. Now, if you are a fighting game guru or fan, this is the place to be. However, many seem to prefer to stick to 2D fighters and Tekken rather then Street Fighter. Although I would be highly intrigued to see my good friend Lamar take on some of the players I did see on Street Fighter, I also wouldn’t mind checking out how my peeps in San Francisco stacked against the players here in Tokyo. One of the highlights in the arcade was seeing a 8 year old kid completely own the Tako Drum Game (the video is down below). Now, when you see a small kid bring his own set of sticks and completely blow away the score of a 21 year old guy, you know you are in Akihabara, Japan. Another popular game currently in the arcades in the Gundam MMO that they basically have, it seems like LOADS of fun as a Gundam fan but as I was on a budget and had already spent my arcade money on Persona 4 and Street Fighter could not play. This brings me to my next point, keep an eye on your wallet at the arcade. The arcades are windowless, mostly a $1.05 per plat and if you are a really good player will take you far but if you suck (like I do) 20 min. later you can be $11 down the hole. It is easy to get sucked in and lose track in time. However, the fruit of victory is sweet.

Here is some pictures of the inside of some of the arcades:

A very particular thing that you can find in Tokyo is maid cafes. There are maids that advertise their cafes EVERYWHERE. Seriously, just walking down one street I found 7 of them! Now they’ll always reject photos but I managed to get a snap shot of one from behind secretly (sorry maid girl!) It doesn’t show her face so it shouldn’t be a problem right?

Well, this raps it up for part 01 of my time in Tokyo. Sorry this is so late but there is a lot write about and admittedly I am quite lazy…

That bring said, this experience also introduced me to a lot of great people too! My hotel mate is wicked cool, it has been great to be able to bounce ideas and share information on what we’ve learned. I can’t really say what the training consists of but I’ll ay more when I am well rested and have extra time