Brave by Disney/Pixar

Last night I had an amazing experience. For over an hour and a half I was transported back into Scotland’s history. Back to a time when men were known more for their brawn than their brains. Back to a time when ladies were lasses and lads were… well lads. Back to a time when magic was real and the Will ‘o The Wisp could help one find their destiny.

Yes, I’m talking about the movie Brave.

I could wax on and on about how great this movie was. How, the naysayers miss the point. But what I realized is that there’s something deeper and more tragic at play.

Everyone who has criticized Pixar and feel that Brave fails to reach the emotional depth of Up, the wonderment of Wall-E or the magic of that was Toy Story. I say, it is they who have failed, not Pixar.

Pixar solidly delivered by giving the audience something we are sorely missing today… Magic!

I think this was expressed best when The Witch tells Marida she doesn’t do magic anymore because of too many complaints.

Luckily for us, Lassiter and Pixar seem to have no qualms about this. For they truly performed magic with Brave!

In the latest episode of the Brigwyn’s Corner Podcast, Mallory (aka Podcastitute) from Heals and Headshots stops by. She and Eddie talk about everything from gator rasslin, chicks who think they’re saving the world to Laura Croft and Barely Legal. It may sound like a bad acid trip.  But really you have an honest discussion on how people may be trading their beliefs in the name of conformity.

Some of the topics we talked about:

• Lousiana is more than just Swamp People and Cajun Pawnstars
• Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian - Victim of trolling or brilliant marketing?
• Laura Croft - “Barely Legal” pornstar of kick ass heroine?
• Social Networks – I like you, just not the real you

Alright, maybe that last one is a bit over the top, but having Dan on was a blast in more ways than one.  One thing I’m always suprised about is how many things we take for granted here just aren’t available outside the US.

Not sure what I’m talking about?  Well you’ll have to listen to Episode 5 of the Brigwyn’s Corner Podcast.

Episode 5 of Brigwyn’s Corner

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Why not leave us a comment by:

• Sending a text or voice mail at: (213) 537-8356
• Emailing us at brigwyn@brigwyn.com

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Eddie plays host to Dan of the Gameolio Podcast. Together they talk about the uses of Smart Glass introduced by Microsoft at E3, Children’s mastery of electronics and a lot of other cool things.

Some of the big questions we address:

• Should toddlers and young children play with tablets and smartphones?
• Has Microsoft hit a homerun or struck out with their SmartGlass idea for Xbox?
• Has the gaming console run it’s course or evolving into a fully functioning home entertainment device?
• Finally, does every Australian really have pet dingos and kangaroos?

Alright, maybe that last one is a bit over the top, but having Dan on was a blast in more ways than one.  One thing I’m always suprised about is how many things we take for granted here just aren’t available outside the US.

Not sure what I’m talking about?  Well you’ll have to listen to Episode 4 of the Brigwyn’s Corner Podcast.

Episode 4 of Brigwyn’s Corner

Non-Flash Download

Why not leave us a comment by:

• Sending a text or voice mail at: (213) 537-8356
• Emailing us at brigwyn@brigwyn.com

Don’t Forget to Subscribe to us on:

• iTunes
• Twitter
• Google+!
• RSS

Special guest Roger of For The Lore provides an insightful discussion on how Blizzard’s implemenation of the Real Money Auction House could end up killing the Diablo III franchise.

Some of the big questions we address:

• Did Blizzard intentionally design Diablo in a way that forces you to “buy” items off the Auction House?
• Could Real Money Transactions take the fun out of gaming?
• Is greed causing big name Game Developers to sacrifice a quality gaming experience for the sake of profits?

I have to admit it was a very interesting discussion.  One that left me not only wondering just where the future of gaming is heading but also asking myself, “Do I really want to go there?”

Episode 3 of Brigwyn’s Corner

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Why not leave us a comment by:

• Sending a text or voice mail at: (213) 537-8356
• Emailing us at brigwyn@brigwyn.com

Don’t Forget to Subscribe to us on:

• iTunes
• Twitter
• Google+!
• RSS

This week Brigwyn welcomes WoW Insider columnist and For The Lore podcaster Joseph Perez aka Lodur as they discuss if the rash of layoffs, downturn in sales means we’re witnessing the slow death of gaming or the possibility of a new renaissance in gaming!

Joe and I talk about:

• The rise of Indie gaming and how it could herald a new generation of innovation for gaming.
• How the industry giants are failing by forgetting it’s not all about wiz bang features and awesome graphics
• What we think was really behind the tragic layoffs at Bioware and 38 Studios and what it could mean to the “Big Guys!

So I hope you enjoy Episode 2 of Brigwyn’s Corner as much as I did recording it!

Non-Flash Download

Why not leave us a comment by:

• Sending a text or voice mail at:  (213) 537-8356
• Emailing us at brigwyn@brigwyn.com

Don’t Forget to Subscribe to us on:

•  iTunes
• Twitter
• Google+!
• RSS

Brig play’s host with special guest HGA Messiah of the Hardcore Gaming Alliance (HGA) clan to discuss how games and the gaming culture has changed and who’s resposible for all the asshats!

Together they discuss:

• Gaming through the ages (Blips to Virtual Cinema) – Was Second Life ahead of it’s time?
• Gamer Attitudes – Why is everyone such an asshat?
• Politics and Gaming (Censorship, Ratings)
• Cross Platform Gaming – Why can’t we play w/ Sony, Nintendo, and/or PC players

So I hope you’ll sit back and enjoy as we kick off Brigwyn’s Corner with Episode 1!

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Don’t forget to leave us a comment on what you thought about our show! 

This Episode of Brigwyn’s Corner is sponsored by:

• Guitar Center
• Hardcore Gaming Alliance

and listeners like:

• Gnomergeddon of Armaggedon’s Coming
• Bloodvein of Bloodvein Movies
• Frandierty
• Tiaxa

Brigwyn’s Corner Podcast by Eddie Carrington aka Brigwyn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

You know what I miss? I miss recording. Oh sure, editing is a pain in the neck. And let’s not even talk about scheduling conflicts with life, guests, and the blasted fire department down the road!! (Okay, I’ll give you that fire engines can make for interesting segues.)

But honestly, those challenges pale when compared to the fun and enjoyment of talking with your friends and hearing what they really think about things.

Well, after giving it a ton of thought, I’ve decided to throw my hat back into the podcasting ring with a new show called, Brigwyn’s Corner.

Learning from previous shows I’ve decided to blend the best from The Hunting Lodge (Humor), In The Corner (Wide Variety of Guests and Topics), Rift Riders (Brutal Honesty) and our round table discussions (Focused Topics) and bring those all together in one show.

I’m sure you can bet on us having plenty of squirrels but that’s all part of the fun right?

Anyways, as with anything in life there’s a catch. Just a small one. I promise.

See, I need your involvement.

I need you to be a guest, suggest topics, and ultimately subscribe and listen.

Send me you’re show ideas and suggestions for guests and panelists for the following shows in my series on Gaming:

• MMOs – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
• PC vs Console Gaming – Will this war ever end?
• Gaming and Parenting – Can the two coexist?
• Single Player vs Multiplayer games, Do we really need both?

These will be the first four episodes to begin recording soon. So, if you’re interested in participating let me know quickly. There are only a very limited number of spots available and if you want to participate you need to let me know sooner rather than later.

Until then, may all your pixels be bright and you’re lives infinite!

(Send all appearance requests and showtopics to brigwyn@brigwyn.com)

Yeah, I know. You’re sitting there thinking, “Hey! You’ve aready reviewed SWTOR. What gives?” You’re right but many of you said I needed to play the game longer and after beta. So, my friend Cocles of Loregy sent me a SWTOR 7 Day Free Trial and here’s my updated review.

First off let me rant a lil bit about my experience in creating an account.

HOLY FREAKING HELLACIOUS TACO SAUCE! THEY PRE-BANNED BRIGWYN!!

Yep, that’s right.  I said I’d keep this quiet while SWTOR Tech support investigated the issue.  Well, nothing happened with their “Supposed” investigation.  What did I get back? A tweet telling me to accept my “Validation” email.  Well guys, I’m STILL waiting for that supposed validation email.  Know what? I don’t think it’s coming!! Why?? Because of what the tech support guy told me.  That Brigwyn.com was an invalid domain in their system!   And the ONLY way brigwyn.com can be an invalid domain is if SOMEONE BANNED IT!!!

So let’s face it. Being pre-banned from a game leave a sour taste in one’s mouth.  But having disclosed that I’ll put my rational hat on and give you my honest opinion about SWTOR.

Thumbs Up On Character Creation

As always Bioware did an awesome job with their character creation screens.  If you’ve played their single player RPG’s you’ll know that they got this down pat.

I’ve heard people lament about the limited number of choices you get.  (Personally, I’m still a bit upset I couldn’t be a Jawa.  COME ON GUYS!! Jawa Brig would be freaking awesome!!)

And yes, I was a bit dissapointed that I couldn’t choose Sith and had to create a Chissy Brig as an Inquisitor.  (One guy even said I looked like a giant Smurf! For gawds sakes!!!)

Anyways, we know by now that every MMO will limit race choices to some extent.  Heck! Even Rift still get’s crap for being a fantasy MMO that doesn’t allow you to be a furry type race.

Thumbs Up On Character Immersion

SWTOR is ALL about YOU!  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  SWTOR did an AWESOME job immersing your character into the storyline.  EVERYTHING you touch or do is about you.

And not even only during the quest’s dialogue scenes.  There’s subtle ways Bioware involved you as well.  For example, you’re included in the game’s summary text.  And sometimes I swear you hear “There he is!” or “That’s him!” in the background when you run around the Hutt’s cantina.  But then again, maybe that’s just my ego talking.

But serioulsy! Thumbs up to Bioware for finding a way to touch everyone’s “I want to be important” spot and making it feel real not forced in this game.

Thumbs Down On User/Game Interaction

Sorry Bioware.  There’s just too much going on.  Add to that you’re use of subtle blues for quest objectives, weird triangles for quest givers and reliance on subtle check boxes you’re overall User/Game Interaction was extremely difficult for me to get used to.

Let’s put it this way.  Somehow I missed the starting of my Advanced Trainer.  OH SURE!! He’s right on the ramp after get into the spacedock you say??

I say, “WTF!?!?  Seriously!?”

Really though, how does a game allow you to miss this?

Every other MMO knows it’s best to keep it simple. If it’s “Training” related give it to the Class Trainer.  Or if you must make it another character, park is butt next to the the trainer!! Come one!

And I’m not kidding about the subtle check boxes. I like the way you allow people to enter/exit warzones without having to requeue.  BUT MAKE THIS MORE VISABLE!!  And if you’re not sure what I’m talking about?  Next time you’re at the Warzone results screen look down at the bottom right.  See that little box? Yeah!! That’s what I’m talking about.

But the biggest complaint about the user/game ui is the use of the blue glow to highlight quest objectives.  Yes, I know blue glowy stuff is cool. But in the Star Wars Universe EVERYTHING GLOWS BLUE!!!!

Okay.. Okay, maybe not everything but a suprisingly lot of stuff does. And this makes it difficult to tell what is clickable or not until you run your mouse over it.

Also, what’s up with all the glitches while running the game through HDMI??

I have to run the game in windowed mode and not full screen just to achieve the proper resolution for my screen.  Not only that I’ve also had several quests failing to give me the dialogue interaction disc forcing me to select the default answers.  And let’s face it, NOT a great way to instill character immersion.

Speaking of the dialogue interaction disc, WAY TO GO!! (Though the choices and resulting dialogue didn’t always seem to match.)

Really! What an awesome presentation! I loved this!

I know this is pretty much the norm for Bioware but other game companies should take notice.  Make the choices apparent and upfront.  A simple, Accept/Decline button just isn’t enough nowdays.

Bioware has proven that character immersion is imperative towards telling the overall story of the game.

Thumbs Down on Questing

Not having the quest objectives near the quest giver is just wasting my time.  So many times I felt I had to run across the map just to complete a simple gathering quest.  What made it even more annoying was the quest giver could have just as easily been near the objectives.  Simply put, THERE WAS NO REASON FOR THIS!!!

I understand that this is a way to encourage exploration. But you can also do that by laying out the zones in a way that one progresses through the story.  Honestly, I didn’t know where I was nor where I was heading most of the time.

Also, I somehow skipped entire storylines. (Granted probably due to missing some floating triangle.)  And let’s face it, if Blizzard and TRION both realized the importance of smaller zones and placing the quest giver closer to the objective, so should every other MMO Developer out there.

Now look! Before you start boiling your panties, I’m not saying every mmo should play like WoW or Rift.  What I am saying is there are some game mechanics that just work.  And having people trapsing from one end of the world to the other just to complete a quest is annoying.  I don’t care if it’s important to the story, I don’t want to spend my limited game time running between objectives.  I want to spend it COMPLETING OBJECTIVES! Capiche?

Thumbs Up To PvP

I’ve heard many people say Flashpoints are where SWTOR shines.  I don’t know. I still haven’t had the pleasure of going through one yet so I’ll just have to take your word on it.

What I can say is Bioware pulled a slam dunk when it comes to PvP.  H to the E to the double L YEAH!!

If you remember anything from the Star Wars franchise it’s the epic laser rifles and light saber battles. Forces of Light and Dark smashing together with lightning bolts and tracer fire slicing the air.

I thought Rift’s Warfronts were awesome, well my friend Bioware proved PvP could be more than a simple capture the flag.

My favorite is Huttball.  This capture the flag alternative is basically gladiator version of football.  You can see how teams use strategy for plays and then select classes to execute them!

Honestly, what can I say!? Too much fun.

Add to that the fact I wasn’t last place in a game that groups every level together says much for their ability to balance levels and classes.

Way to go Bioware! You proved PvP could be innovative and fun in an MMO RPG.

Overall Experience: Thumbs Up On The RPG, Thumbs Down on the MMO

So here’s my overall impression.  SWTOR is still a great Single Player RPG you can play with other players.

The storylines allow you to group up and play together.  Flashpoints are there for those who enjoy instance/raid type play.  PvP for those who enjoy the feel of epic battles.   But overall it just doesn’t feel like an MMO.

Everything about this game seems to be geared around the single player.  And that’s great if you’re only looking for an RPG that you can have the opportunity to play with others when you feel like it.

But that’s not what an MMO is suppose to be about.  (Well that’s my opinion anyways.)  I’ve mentioned here before that an MMO is about more than just my character’s adventure.  It’s an epic quest that requires a party to complete.  And if that Party Adventure feel isn’t there then something is missing in your MMO.

I’m not saying forced grouping should be enforced, but grouping should be encouraged.  As I mentioned before, Open Grouping is one way of doing this.  There’s other ways also.  Having group only quests are another way and I’m sure if we thought about it, we could come up with a good 10 or more others. (NO! LFG Tools aren’t the answer.  They’re just a crutch for the single player wanting to complete group objectives imho!)

That said, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my time in SWTOR.

I did! REALLY!! I did!

SWTOR is the first time in a REALLY long time I was able to truly feel like I knew my character.  Honestly, I’d have to go back to my Burning Crusade days in WoW to feel more intuned with the Brigwyn persona.

So when I say SWTOR is a great Single Player RPG you can play with others, that’s not a ding.  Think of it more as a disclaimer.   Because if you’re looking for a game that you feel you’ll never get to the end without a group of 10 or 20 friends, well then SWTOR isn’t for you.

However, if you’re looking for a game that’s enjoyable and you don’t want to feel like you have to rush through it to play “The Real Game” then SWTOR could be the game you’re looking for.

(Editor’s Note:  My friend Cocles felt that I was overly biased in my review due to my ever growing disastisfaction with the MMO Genre.  And after thinking about it for a bit, he might be right.  I’m not saying this negates my feelings, nor the issues the issues I have with SWTOR but just offering some perspective on where I’m coming from.)

Funimation has finally released their mobile app for Android and iOS devices.  Only problem is they didn’t put it up on the Amazon App store. (Well, as far as I can tell they didn’t.)  So I thought I’d use this as an opportunity to tell people how they can install this and other Android apps from Google Play on their Kindle Fire!

There’s a lot of different ways to do this.  But I’ve found the easiest one is to go ahead and download another app called Air Droid.   Without it you’ll have to do a lot of USB switching and who really wants to do that.  Not me that’s for sure.

So I’m going to go ahead and just assume you’ve taken my advice and installed Air Droid on your phone and Kindle Fire.

(Here’s a quick how to)

1. Install AirDroid from Google Play
2. Export AirDroid.apk to your PC
3. Make Sure Your Kindle Fire Settings Allows App Installs from other sources.
4. Connect your Kindle Fire to your PC via USB
5. Copy the AirDroid .apk from your PC to your Kindle Fire’s Download Folder via USB
6. Install AirDroid

Now that you’ve installed AirDroid ANY app can be installed to your Kindle Fire with ease. (Well with the exception of the Google Specific and maybe a few others I’m not aware of anyways.)

Simply do the following after making sure your Kindle allows for Third Party App Installs :

1. Install the app on your Android Device (Funimation in this case.)  (Free Funimation Link, Paid Funimation Link)

2. Export the app’s .apk from your Android device (Funimation.apk)

3. Start up AirDroid on your Kindle Fire

4. Connect to your Kindle Fire’s address via your PC’s Browser. (Note: Only Firefox or Chrome is supported.)

5. Click The Files Icon

6. Click Download Folder then Select Import to bring over your Funimation.apk or other application .apk file.

7. On Your Kindle File Select Files From AirDroid

8. Browse to the Download Folder and double-tap the Funimation.apk or other application .apk file you would like to install.  (Sorry, I coudn’t get a screen shot of this. But I think it’s pretty self explanitory.)

VOILA!!

There you have it! You can now install ANY Android app onto your Kindle Fire.  (BTW! This works both ways so it’s possible to install the app from your Kindle Fire onto your other Android Device.)

OH! Last thing.  I’m not entirely sure the legal ramifcations for installing an app on multiple devices.  So as a disclaimer: remember to make sure you’ve bought a license of the app you’re using for ever device  it’s installed on.

On the afternoon of April the first, two fools sat down for lunch.  One was the world famous Brigwyn, master of the whirling panty raid.  The other?  The elusive Cocles of Loregy.com.  Blogs were discussed, the idea of guest posts came up, and somewhere between my pancakes (because breakfast three times a day = awesome) and Eddie’s flirtations with our friendly waitress, it was suggested I say hello, because some of Eddie’s readers might be into game lore.

Some he says?

SOME?!

Pah!  We are all into game lore.

There is a reason we don’t say “story”, or “plot”.  ”Lore” is much more encompassing.  Eddie asked me why game lore was so important.  That’s simple.  Without it, games would be reduced to wire frames of rectangles and cubes bouncing off each other while math scrolls by in the background.

The story is central in lore, sure.  Lore junkies like myself can debate for hours over where the story’s branches may lead, but as with trees in real life, it can be easy to forget about the roots and how deep they grow.

Genre is lore.  The fact that you wield a sword instead of a laser pistol is lore.  Wanting to play the good guys (or bad guys) is lore.  Lore touches everything that is right brained about a game.  Plenty of us may not care one bit for the story, but we nonetheless love the game’s setting.  We may love its aesthetic.  We may love our undead dragon mount.  Those are all elements rooted in the lore and dictated by the story.

Then what is the best kind of lore?  The kind that polarizes.  Lore thrives on story, and story thrives on conflict.  Alliance, Horde, Republic, Empire.  Players who have never read a single quest can still have strong opinions when it comes to factions.  A Lorelol Troll can still hate gnomes.  This is polarizing lore.  It creates reactions on both ends of the scale.  This in turn creates the best kind of conflict, the kind found within the player-base itself.

Lore generates rivalries, and gives games their flavor.  A game without lore is going to turn bland as soon as the novelty of its mechanics wear out.  Even Asteroids puts you in a ship, and has you firing at, well– asteroids.  I love that example, because it’s easy imagine that game still working fine if everything was just a rectangle.  The right brained aspect, the lore, took a simple concept and made you a space hero.

So yes.  We are all into game lore…. even those who skip reading the quests.

…

 One more happy-fun treat before I go.  I’ve been asked a number of times by Eddie and others to name the most popular aspect of World of Warcraft lore.  That’s simple; it’s the speculation.  I’ve been writing about WoW lore since 2007, and I can definitely say that it’s not deep, intellectual, game theory posts that are popular.  It’s when I speculate.  And why wouldn’t it be?  Stories at their heart are nothing but a continuous answer to the question, “What happens next?”  Forget nuance, forget theory, I could write about that all day and never interest a ready, but when I discuss what’s possibly up next for Thrall and Sylvanas?  That’s when the flood arrives.

That is the heart of being a lore-junkie… it’s being obsessed with question “what happens next”.  If you’ve ever found yourself asking that while playing, you may be a lore-junkie yourself.