Our Turkey Triloging comes to a close with this, our denouement. Gabriel is, of course, a caricature of the genuine article. On the other hand, the grandma and the greasy fireman are only too real. I sometimes wish that the fireman were less real, particularly when I am sent to the basement on an errand.
Brooding at dusk, I would often burn with jealousy toward Windows Media Center owners - there were many reasons, but chief among them was their use of Transcode360 to view videos of any format on their Xbox 360. It seemed clear that with the Fall Update - the one that allowed video streaming from any Windows box, as long as the source was a .wmv - the rest of us would get a solution for this before much time had passed. I’d been keeping an eye on HappyBeggar, watching their attempts at automating the process which eventually became the application Encode360, but I was looking for something that would convert videos upon request, and translate them in real-time. Yes: I’m high-maintenance.
On the same site, they mentioned that TVersity (an application which performs networked media sorcery) had a recent preview update which does exactly what I want, and quite possibly what you want: let me watch my Divx/Xvid shows through my 360. Depending on the source resolution and the desired output, it may be that you need a pretty mean machine to get the job done in real-time. Demanding that incoming video be in their own format constitutes a fairly heavy load. But if you’re a gamer who splits their time between personal computers and consoles, you probably have enough beef - then again, you probably have an Xbox Media Center. That might be another post altogether.
You should be able to resolve any issues with your installation combing through their announcement thread. Even if you have no interest in video per se, you might be intrigued by TVersity’s other capabilities - the audio features in particular. Imagine being able to listen to podcasts or Internet radio stations live through the Dash, on demand, in any game. Appealing.
I stopped playing Legend of Zelda last night not because I wanted to, no - I stopped because it was physically impossible to continue. I was conscious, and aware, but the body resisted my will. Seriously, it was like the One video. At one point the eyes just shut down. I considered going on like this, compensating with my other senses, taking up the aegis of the mole rat, when other (historically, quite loyal!) portions of the body joined the growing revolt. I thought I should probably stumble upstairs before other, more crucial organs began to ignore Central Command.
(CW)TB out.
our hopes and expectations
Joystiq had some interesting articles up over the weekend about introducing your family to the Wii. I actually had a similar experience. We had a house full of friends and family for Thanksgiving and the Wii was really the star of the show. Kara and I both had parents over and we actually had a hard time getting them off of Wii sports. I can’t even count how many rounds of bowling I must have played. It was amazing to watch how easily they picked it up and how much fun they had. What was great was watching Kara’s Dad who loves to bowl but can’t anymore because of his knees. I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes home this week and tries to pick one up.
I think the Wii really is the ultimate party machine. If you crack out Rayman or Wii sports with some friends it’s just instant fun. It really hasn’t been able to occupy much of my solo gaming time though. I’m not sure if that will change but for right now it’s just something that gets broken out when we have company. Sort of like twister or Trivial Pursuit. Will it collect dust like those other games in between family gatherings and game nights with our friends? I guess we’ll see.
I played a fuck ton of Rainbow Six Vegas over the weekend. Some of the guys here have jumped right into the multiplayer and I could see them on every night earning new ranks. I wanted to join them but I just couldn’t pull myself away from the single player campaign. I never thought I’d say this but Vegas has a really awesome storyline. After the end of the first mission I was hooked. It really plays out like a big budget action movie. More than any other Tom Clancy Game I’ve played, Vegas feels like something I’d go watch in a theater. The only thing it’s missing is Harrison Ford. I know lots of you probably picked it up for the multi or you’re playing through the missions in coop. I’m telling you all that stuff is awesome but if you skip the single player you really are doing yourself a disservice.
It’s a huge day for the Penny Arcade store. We’re launching a bunch of new stuff. Here’s a quick run down:
-DS owners show your pride with our new "Lite Brigade” shirt
-The pinnacle of seventh grade math class humor, the “boobies” shirt.
-Fruit Fucker Prime makes his shirt debut in our new “Fruit Fucker Apocalypse” design.
I don’t know where you live, but here in Seattle its fucking cold. We figure it might be cold where you are too so we’ve taken many of our most popular designs and put them on hoodies.
-Put down that lantern and pick up this Zelda inspired “Life” hoodie.
-You don’t need a flaming uppercut to stay warm in this “Shoryuken” hoodie.
-Our “Jesus is Metal” hoodie is what God would wear if he ever got cold.
-Insert yourself into this “Insert Coin” hoodie and you’ll be nice and toasty.
“Rogues do it from Behind”... while they wear this rad hoodie!
So take a look around the store. I guarantee there’s some good stuff in there for the geeks on your list this year.
-Gabe out
So the big news today, in the world of web comics at least is that PvP is getting itself animated. Scott posted the news along with a little teaser over on his site. He’s actually writing the entire thing with the help of Kris Straub. I was a big fan of the old Blamimations they did together and I’ve told them both whenever possible that they needed to collaborate more. I make jokes when I’m uncomfortable and it just so happens I have issues with anxiety so I’m essentially uncomfortable all day. That means I spend a lot of my time making jokes. When Scott and Kris were up here visiting I hardly said a word. They’re just too funny and they’re always on. You just can’t compete with them, all you can do is laugh.
Anyway their doing this animated series now and I think they’re doing a lot of things right.
They’re collaborating on it, they’re writing them all in advance and they made sure they got talented people to animate it. All good stuff.
At first I thought the decision to go with Blind Ferret was a mistake. I don’t have any horse in this race so I don’t mind saying that their previous endeavor was some of worst flash bullshit I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how much of that was them and how much was the material they were given to work with but it doesn’t really matter. The name does not inspire confidence. Scott’s told me that this is a fresh team of new talented animators and from what I’ve seen it shows. Personally if I were them I’d change my name but maybe they really like ferrets.
I’ve seen him take a lot of flak for the voices and that’s a tough call. You’ll never be able to give the characters voices that sound right for everyone. We all hear something different in our heads when we read a comic. I’ve gone on record as saying that I think Gabe should be voiced by Sean Connery should the need ever arise. I think Brent is solid, I think Francis sounds like a person trying to sound like a kid and I think Scott should voice Skull. Scott says he wouldn’t do as good a job as the pro they’ve got doing Skull now but he’s wrong.
I’ve seen how hard they’re working on it and I know how funny they can be. I’m a few years younger than Scott but I still want to say I’m proud of them both. An animated series of this quality and scale is a massive undertaking. I really hope it’s a huge success for them. You can watch the trailer and pre-order the first season here.
Also I forgot to mention one of our new shirts. At conventions people like to ask us how we came up with the Fruit Fucker. It’s a long story but it involves a company called Fucker co. Will people buy a shirt with the word “fucker” on it? I guess we’ll see.
-Gabe out
We did a really awesome project (can I say it’s awesome, is that okay?) for Wired magazine. You can either go pick up the most recent issue and read it there or check it out on their site. They asked us to do a piece for them handicapping all three of the next generation systems. We tried to be as fair as we could and hopefully you’ll get a kick out of it.
Also I posted a couple of the recent comics over on at gabeart minus the word balloons. There was some background work in them that I was really proud of that didn’t make it into the final Jpeg. For instance, a close inspection of the drinks at the t dinner table might give you a chuckle.
-Gabe out
