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In this post I ask you to ask me stuff. I will then answer the question in a way that’s hopefully relevant to you. So if you have any burning questions you want me to answer, or try and find out an answer to, let me know in the comments below and I’ll get round to answering them in the afternoon.
Thanks guys – and I was so disappointed that no-one asked me the ‘pants’ question last week. Because I was working from home last wednesday. I’ll leave you to fill in the terrifying blanks.
I kind of made a vague question last week on this but I’ll reword it-
Are you still (or have ever been) a fan of adventure games? What are your thoughts on some of the latest offerings like Machinarium and Whispered World? It seems to have got a bit of love from the collaboratory group which surprised me, and I myself still hold it as one of the genres with the greatest potential.
I knew I should’ve bought the domain collaboratory instead of http://collabratory.com/ (no ‘o’ after the b). I just didn’t like the sound of it at the time. Too late now I guess 🙁 Is Machinarium good? I have it installed but haven’t had a chance to play it yet. I can’t even remember which computer I installed it on. I’ve become a games collector who never plays games.
Haha, aren’t we all that kind of game collector? Machinarium is amazing, in a simplistically delightful character/plot/puzzle combination. I enjoyed it immensely 🙂
Whispered World was really great too, but the story (specifically the ending) divided a few people. I at least applaud the game for being unique and daring in that sense, unlike many other developers these days.
Sorry about ‘collabratory’! My bad >.<
I’m a huge fan of adventure games (my gamertag used to be ‘G Threepwood’)
Haven’t played any in ages though…
Was that GT5 photoshop competition america only?
And, if cheese is a kind of beef, and if as you they say “You are what you eat”, and cows eat grass (ie. vegetation), surely this means eating steak is classed as vegetarian. :/ ?
Let’s not forget grass and plants rely on photosynthesis, so by extension, if cows eat grass and you then eat cows, you’re practically EATING THE SUN.
Mark –
I have a conundrum. I have a choice of either going to a Staff Christmas lunch next friday, with a whole bunch of people I really don’t like, but I can get a free massage & lunch.
Or my second option is to just not go and just go over to my mate’s house for some multiplayer Dead Rising 2 / Watching Die Hard.
What do I pick?
Free Lunch & Massage. Grunt noncomittally to your evil workerbeings and then when no one realises slip away to your mates house.
Best of both worlds!
Oh John McClane, why did I ever think that some stupid free meal and massage would be better than seeing you killing terrorists and one-upping hans gruber?
I’M SORRY! I’ll even watch Die Hard 4.0 if you want me too. Sure, it sucked, but I’ll gladly do that to make up for this.
That’s ok, just don’t ever do that again, or you’re dead. I’ll Yippie kai-break my foot off in your ass if you ever *think* about passing up on Die Hard.
Die Hard or die trying. Or just Try Harder. Maybe you should just try harder with a vengeance?
Hi Mark,
I heard about this in the US a while back, but wanted to find out if this may happen here. I understand Sony are offering an extended PlayStation warranty in the US, but I wanted to know if Sony are offering it here, or if not are planning to do so and how much it might be?
Thanks 🙂
Hey Mark,
Here’s the link! 🙂
And so it is that Sir. M. Serrels desires a conundrum. So it is that i desire to throw 3 of the scurviest curve-balls from the deepest of left-field.
Does the Serrels dare answer the questions three in the spirit of a sleuth or can we presume he “can’t handle the truth”?
Mark Serrells’ 3 temperature based riddles:
Does Modern Warfare have the HOTTEST, mustachioed-macho men in video games?
Should the next incarnation of UFC have even sweatier/steamier grappling mechanics?
Is minus 40 degrees Celsius exactly the same temperature as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit?
Can Mark handle the heat in the kitchen or will he freeze under the cold, hard, fluorescent light of the interview room? Please discuss.
And so it is with my solarium ready for my afternoon tanning session and my red speedos securely fastened, I bid you good day.
Tell nobody i was here.
Better yet, if we put Senor Serrels in either a very hot or very cold place for a period of a couple of minutes, will he change shape?
– Bennet from Commando is the hottest moustachioed man in any medium.
– The sweatier the better
– YESNO
Yes.
Yes indeed.
Well played, Sir.
With forlorn duty it is that I reluctantly chalk this up as a win for the Editor.
I enjoy the ambiguity of your response to question three and your implied denial of a singular or absolute truth; you suggest uncertainty as central to the very nature of existence – well played.
Bennett? An interesting choice and i accept & recognise your decision.
But, listen, please understand, i’m just playing devil’s advocate here: from memory, Bennett is sleeveless for the duration of the film without the necessary upper-arm conditioning.
John Matrix looses the sleeves – certainly – but he does so only after the necessary work at his local gymnasium.
Is Bennett’s splendid moustache not jeopardised by the extent of his fashion faux pas? – Discuss.
And finally: yes, exactly. Obviously a slipperier & sweatier grappling experience in the next installment of THQ’s UFC is going to be like super hot and educational for everybody.
Final Score: 2.5/3. (which is like 83 per cent or some junk – what am I, a mathematician? – You can answer that question next week if you prefer.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Motivating Mark – A Poem by S. Cavalcade.
2.5 out of 3 is not bad
Most people would be glad
Mark Serrels is not a predator
He is your friendly Kotaku Editor
Go Serrels!
Hi Mark,
I’m putting my future in your hands! To some extent… Would you say it’s a bad time to try and get into the games industry in Australia? I’m thinking I’d really like to study games design next year, but I’m always reading about studios closing or laying off staff. I’d really appreciate any advice! Happy to accept thoughts/advice from anyone else too lol. Thanks:)
It’s a big decision – if I were you I’d prepare myself to move overseas, but the mobile scene is growing rapidly, and there are still great studios in this country.
Thanks for the advice, I’ll definitely keep that in mind… Oh and while I’m here, I’ll say that I’m really enjoying what you’re doing with the site, so thanks for that as well!
Having worked for aussie game developers in the past, I can say it’s definitly a fun career path if you can pull it off, but it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, developers will lay you off at a moments notice to save money. Every artist I’ve known in the industry has always had a backup career they could fall back on in the downtimes. You might be lucky and get a year or two of employment out of one company, and then have nothing for 6months – 4 years. It’s a very topsy-turvy industry. Often you can be lucky to pickup some freelance work in between jobs, but it’s always best to have something else to fall back on if need be. Myself, I’m a computer tech when I’m not doing game dev stuff. I haven’t been employed full time by a game dev for a number of years now, but that’s more for lack of trying than anything 😉 I just thought it was a good time to take a break, but I still do freelance work in my spare time, which keeps the fire burning 🙂
Thanks! Should have known I could count on one of the regulars to come through with some help:) I’ve had a really stable job for the last 7 years so I’ll admit that whole tipsy topsy turvy thing scares me a little..! On the other hand, I’ll probably drive myself crazy if I’m here for another 7 years so perhaps a leap into the unknown is necessary lol. I can’t help but think that in 10 years I might kick myself for not giving this thing a go.. Damn life and its lack of multiple save files… Thanks a whole heap though:)
It is a bit on the scary side. I was quite young when I broke in to the industry, so it was probably a bit easier for me as I was a bit.. carefree. I had been modeling for years as a hobby, and knew I wanted to make games, and then I got sponsored to take part in a trial of one of the first australian game dev courses. At the end of it we had an industry night and I was lucky enough to woo one of the developers. Having that kind of exposure certainly helped me a bit. Not sure how easy it would have been without it. Once you’ve got your foot in the door though, other dev’s are more likely to take notice of you. I was in games for a number of years, and then got cut during downsizing. I went in to tv after that, and I’ve kind of jumped between games and animation ever since. I guess I would go back to doing it again if the opportunity presented itself, but I haven’t been actively seeking it lately. Happy to just wait it out and see where life takes me 😉 Never know.. might end up with my own mob one day!
Also, if you’re interested in game dev, perhaps you should join us at http://collabratory.com/groups/kotaku-au. We’re on the virge of starting up a project with people from the Kotaku AU community, and it would be ideal for you to gain some experience. I’m posting all kinds of info there on different aspects, which will help you to learn about stuff aswell!
I think the Kotaku indie game is a great idea, but honestly I would feel like dead weight to you guys lol, I can’t think of anything I would have to offer…
It sounds like you had a great start in the industry, I could only hope that I’d get that lucky. Perhaps I’m still young enough to get away with being carefree… I’m probably on the border! lol.
I guess in the end I’ve just got to decide if it’s worth the risk and probably instability in the future. Can’t thank you enough for all the info you’ve given me!:)
I did!
Jimu Hsien
November 24, 2010 at 5:19 PM
Handheld and phone together?
A phone game is gonna win cos everyone has one…
I vote for Dragon Quest IX, I just couldn’t play anything else for a month solid!
Doh. Oh, well it’ll come through the ‘other’ section. I’ll update it tomorrow. My bad.
I’m thinking of getting a ViDock worth getting for my lappy. Will I get the full power of the graphics card or will there be some power loss?
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