Exiled in Elba While Writing

Selling characters then stories

2012-02-01T22:51:00.000-08:00

picture courtesy of niXerKG, Flickr, cc

The Iron Giant is one of the best animated movies ever to be made outside of Pixar and an older Disney Studios. The movie didn't quite do as well as some fans would have liked, but it became a cult classic that many still hold dear today.

The plot comes straight out of the 60's with commies still threatening the United States, monster movies coming into their own with a burgeoning sci-fi scene and a young boy befriending a massive robot.

Sounds like a simple, syrupy kids movie that should have made some money and disappeared. There is even a romance plot with the lead character's mother and his surrogate father figure.

It doesn't get more campy then that.

But the plot isn't what draws people in. Its the characters that pull our attention and keep us zoned in.

Each character has something that eludes most movies and changes them from archetypes to fleshed out individuals.

Complex morality.

There isn't anyone in the movie who really fits the mold of villain and even the hero, Hogarth, seems to be a little selfish at times. The antagonist, an NSA agent named Ken Mansley, may be pigheaded and jingoistic, but even he believes what he is doing is right.

And to some degree he is. The giant is a walking, killing machine who had some of his programs damaged when he crash landed on Earth. Trying to get rid of something that could destroy America's army is a natural response.

The heroes have faults and the villains are despicable, but understandable.

And that is what people read, watch and tell stories for.

Because no matter how fantastical a tale might be, if the people are believable and organic, the audience will invest in them.

Nintendo loses money: Do they need to grow up?

2012-01-27T03:06:00.000-08:00

picture courtesy of Jeff Dlouhy, cc, Flickr

It seems Nintendo is going to finally lose money.

And its a lot.

A yahoo video game article stated that Nintendo is going to lose somewhere around $623 million for the last three months.

This isn't surprising and this blog has made a mention about the fact that the company flopped with it's 3DS and how it could have done better.

But the interesting thing about the article comes in the comments. Some posters stated that Nintendo needed to grow up with it's original audience and make more adult games. They made the inference that those who played on the original Nintendo and Super Nintendo system should get preferential treatment.

That is a ridiculous notion. Making video games for adults the main priority is a horrible idea for Nintendo. At the end of the day video games are for kids and adolescents, not for people who have made it their hobby as grown members of society.

This isn't to disparage anyone who continues to play video games as an adult, but just a reminder that you are no longer the key demographic for Nintendo. If you want adult games you need to go to Microsoft or Sony who make more mature games than ones that could be considered kid-friendly.

The irony is that these adults obviously love Nintendo because of the memories they have of it. They have a real nostalgia for the company and love what it brought them. The only problem is that they forget that it was their wonderment as kids for characters such as Zelda, Mario, Samus and Kirby that made the experience so enjoyable.

Video games are something that is part of the human imagination. They have the ability to flaunt the laws of physics and contradict what basic societal rules tell us. In adult games you see this less because we are less than willing to accept it.

That doesn't mean video games, especially ones made by Nintendo which we grew up on, should change. It means that if we want to keep playing video games we should learn to find the kid in us again and enjoy what first brought us to gaming in the first place.

The belief that anything was possible and the world was full of magic.

Nintendo does need to innovate, but not at the expense of their biggest market and what should always be their first source of market share. They need to adapt to the market as it comes to selling games and how they implement it, but without losing their special quality.

It would be like asking Disneyland to make all of the content PG-14. Not only would they not do it, it would make the theme park lose some of it's luster.

Nintendo's Neverland mentality is what makes it great. It makes it a unique standout in the evolution of technology.

So they don't need to change with the times, it's original fans just need to remember that it what was great to begin with.

And with that maybe they will remember that being able to play games can be fun. After all, it is what video games were made to do to begin with.

Dreaming when you can't afford to sleep

2012-01-24T23:56:00.000-08:00

picture courtesy of mack2happy

Nerds are dreamers.

They are the people who hear "no" and "you can't do it" everyday. They are the people who believe in the impossible and can sometimes come off as arrogant when it comes to what they want.

They seem to think they are better than most and usually look terrible physically.

That is because that is what it takes.

Everyone has ideas whether it is for video games, music, comic books, or stories. How many times have you heard someone say "One day I'm going to write a book. Its on my to do list."

Except today never comes. They have kids, a significant other, bills to pay and that restaurant they need to try. Its pricey, but its worth it or so they've heard.

Nerds on the other hand live for their dreams. They want to see them reach the light of day and be lauded by others in a way that validates their efforts. It usually makes them isolated from others and seem abnormal, but that difference many times makes them strive to be the best there is.

Wanting to be the best in the world or of all time might seem vain, but there is something behind that.

Motivation.

There are plenty of people who dream of making video games, drawing comic books, or being novelists. It doesn't happen because other things get in the way and they push it to the side. That is because they never asked themselves one question.

What are you willing to sacrifice?

Many people who make it to the top are willing to believe in their dream, but as it gets harder they have to amp up what they feel they deserve and how good they think they are.

That is because their dream makes them give up things most won't.

Their dream becomes the 2-6 hours of sleep a night they lose.

It becomes the meals they skip so they can keep working.

It becomes the pet they don't have it.

It becomes the significant other they can't find.

It becomes the children they can't have.

It becomes the TV they don't watch.

It becomes the video games they don't play.

It becomes the friends they don't get to see.

It becomes the family they don't get to hug.

Dreamers may get these things in the future, but while they are working towards that dream they usually sacrifice some if not all of the things mentioned above. When that happens they need to believe in their dream enough to see it through the months and years when everything changes around them.

And sometimes that means making the goals a little more serious then others would. Because when the costs are that high the goals have to be as well. Only after there is some success can they be ratcheted down.

Nerds realize that that is what it takes no matter how it seems to others and how they are looked at. It may look impossible, but then again so is their initial dream to be paid to create art in the new digital world.

So in the end, its just another dream within the dream.

And if anyone can understand that, its nerds.

picture courtesy of Kenneth Cratty

Why the Nintendo 3DS should have emulated Apple

2012-01-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

picture courtesy of Matt Jerome, CC, Flickr

Many people reading this blog will be video gamers, but others won't. That is fine as the truth is that the idea behind this post more has to do with innovation and forward thinking than anything else.

Nintendo is a video gaming company that makes both handheld and console systems. While console systems hook up to a TV and are stationary, handheld games can be taken anywhere and can fit in most jean pockets.

Nintendo had long held the reins on the handheld gaming market with almost a decade of dominance before Sony decided to test the waters with it's own handheld system called the PSP. It was supposed to be an all-in-one media center where someone could play movies, games and music.

It was a colossal failure.

That is because video gamers don't want to have a multimedia center in their hands. They want a quick and fun distraction from wherever they are or what they are doing.

Even the most inexperienced gamers have probably sat down at a monitor and lost a few hours to Facebook games or Bejeweled. That is because those games are fun, addictive and more importantly, they know where consumers are headed.

Nintendo made a new handheld recently called the 3DS which has the ability to project itself in, what else, 3D all without the help of glasses.

While that is impressive the question Nintendo should have asked is, "How many people have 3D TV's?"

If people were rushing out in droves to get 3D television sets or other 3D technology then it would make sense. But they aren't.

What many tech-savvy buyers are doing is purchasing games for their iphone or ipad. Most of the games cost 99 cents and are addictive and simple enough for anyone to play.

Nintendo could revolutionize the market if they had just decided to compete with Apple's itunes gaming market. The 3DS gets wireless Internet and has an online shop with which people can buy content.

Why didn't they market the system as something where the gamers can become developers?

There are plenty of people out there who would love the potential exposure and money a hit game would make for them on a serious triple A platform. Nintendo could have helped out plenty of young talents in the field, made more jobs and pushed the limits of gaming while finding new franchises and ideas.

The 3DS for all its advances is still the most graphically limiting system in the "serious" video game market and giving anyone a chance to publish games for it, with Nintendo only asking for a cut of the profits, would have made money.

The only thing it would have cost Nintendo is a content moderation team. If they had even several hits it would have made them an incredible amount of revenue.

Imagine being stuck at the bank, whipping out a video game system and playing a slightly better version of Bejeweled or Angry Birds while you wait in a long line. Its something that everyone, even people who have never bought a video game system for themselves can think on.

But Nintendo did what so many do. They chased a fad instead of an idea and focused on the growth of technology instead of the chance to foster human growth.

And in the end it got them slumping sales and made the gaming community poorer as a result.

George Lucas retiring from movies? Its about time!

2012-01-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

Terri hodges, cc, Flickr

It appears that George Lucas might just retire from movies.

Sort of.

He has stated that he is no longer going to film blockbusters, but make smaller artistic movies. That may just be for the best.

Lucas may have been contemplating this move for a while, but he has made his decision.

It doesn't help that he was snubbed by most film studios in his most recent film, Red Tails, which is about Tuskeegee airmen who tried to prove they were some of the best in Word War II who fought to prove they were as good as their white counterparts.

It doesn't make Hollywood look good and it doesn't help Lucas's ego either.

So Lucas is going to end his career with the exception of making one last Indiana Jones movie.

Did that make you wince? Good.

It is painful to think about Lucas making another tale in the saga of Jones after the crystal skull. Harrison Ford did a great job of reprising his role, but the movie just felt off. It didn't feel like we were watching an Indiana Jones movie.

It felt like a movie about his son with him in a supporting role.

The same goes for the "prequel" for Star Wars. The movies were just a little off in how they tied to the first ones.

Instead of fans being able to dream exactly what happened to turn Anakin Skywalker evil they had to watch it.

The jedi went from being clever and strong to being superhuman and the force went from mystical to a scientific explanation.

Star Wars had seemed to lose its magic.

It even happened with Lucas Arts, the video game company owned by the famous movie maker. At one point it was a beacon of intelligent gaming with titles like Full Throttle and Monkey Island coming out of its doors.

Even for those who don't know what those are, the names sound foreign and different.

Lucas became stuck on his own legacy.

It happens to almost anyone who becomes successful. They grow complacent and keep producing the same material over and over again without risking any new innovation.

Sometimes it is because kids are born. Sometimes it is because they live in one area for a certain amount of time and repeat the same schedule.

It could also be that success just makes them complacent.

Whatever the case Lucas is branching away from that complacency. He did it with Red Tails and he is going to be doing it more in the future.

Good for him. It would be easy to continue trying to make the same movies he has, but it wouldn't evolve his skill any and it wouldn't make anything new that fans and critics could appreciate.

Lucas should be applauded for being willing to stretch himself past his comfort zone.

At 67 it is something we should all aspire to.

picture courtesy of Salvatore Vuono

I Robot: Making bad movies out of great books

2012-01-19T02:19:00.000-08:00

flickr, cc, picture courtesy of Steve Keys

To many people I Robot was a movie that starred Will Smith that came out a few years ago.

Us nerds know better.

I Robot was a novel comprised of short stories by Isaac Asimov which dealt with the conflicts and problems a society that created AI would face. It was a book that proved that with only three laws of robotics, these machines could be controlled and regulated properly.

The way that the AI was given almost human characteristics and the ways in which the humans connected with them was groundbreaking stuff. It made the idea seem less likely to backfire and kill us all.

It moved robots away from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and towards the C-3PO model we all know and love.

Except for those who swear fealty to the alter of Star Trek. In which case the model is Data, the lovable robot Pinocchio who may one day be a real boy.

Regardless of which side you stand on, which is a blog to be tackled at another time, nerds have always loved the idea that AI could be a manufactured companion. Something to ease our loneliness.

And then Hollywood makes a movie where Will Smith must destroy a bunch of rogue, violent Robots.

Uggh.

The movie focused on the broad notions that the robots had evolved to interpret the laws of robotics how they saw fit. They decided they needed to control humans and through a revolution, fewer humans would die then if left to their own devices.

Any person who has read Assimov's piece is now getting warning flags.

The movie ends with an idea that the robots will have a peaceful revolution and free themselves.

This notion flies in the face of everything Assimov wrote down. It spits on the man's ideals and the very scientific method he had created and fictionally tested.

The irony is that the movie isn't that bad on its own merits. Any other name and sci fi lovers would probably have bought it in droves.

But they needed to slap on the name of Assimov in order to sell tickets to the masses.

In order to believe they were expanding the science fiction genre.

The very notion, and the damage it has done to Assimov's legacy is enough to make the movie terrible.

After all, they took a book whose notion was to prove that AI could have a nonviolent existence and subverted it. Both books and movies are ideas brought to life.

I Robot the movie killed a little bit of its predecessors idea. Anything that does that can only be seen one way.

A violation of one of the laws of creation and creativity.

And that is unacceptable.

Risk: Its not just for board games

2012-01-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

picture courtesy of Grant Cochrane

I promised that this site would be all things nerdy and not about sports, but this might be one of the few times I indulge. Failure has already been mentioned on this blog, but not what leads to failure.

Risk.

Recently, ESPN did a piece on Outside the Lines about UFC fighter pay. They mentioned talking to anonymous sources about how many starting fighters made only $6,000 to show and $6,000 if they won.

They also mentioned that only the top guys in the UFC are paid exceptionally well. The idea put out there is that their smaller name fighters should make more money like starting football players do.

There is only two problems with this.

1) Football has a commission and the players have a union.

2) Football is seen on basic network and has different ways of monetizing itself.

Boxing and pro wrestling have been scrutinized the same way.

But you know what? Those are sports or sports theatre based on pay-per-view.

That means people buy the events for just a few people and then the rest just help the event become bigger. But people come for the stars they know. Those are the people who drive the numbers up, so they deserve to be compensated.

Just like in anything that involves risk, these fighters and athletes take the gamble it's not going to work out.

This blog might not work out. Their careers might not work out. Someone who runs for office might fail.

These are risks that either yield incredible rewards or nothing. There is very little in-between.

At some point you have to go all-in if you want to succeed. That means the possibility that you won't make it.

But just like anything in life that is why few can do it. Because most won't even make the attempt.

At some point you have to try or give up and accept the consequences either way.

With that said we will be back to our nerdy content in the next day or two.

Captain Marvel as the ultimate superhero kid's movie? SHAZAM!

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

picture courtesy of Pinguino k, cc, flickr

A decade and a half ago if you enjoyed comic books you were a nerd. That meant you got beat up and ridiculed.

Now its chic to romp on the geeky side and collect comics. As much as this is a head-scratcher a nerd can't complain. The only problem is that most of the movies made about superheroes are made for adults.

These were originally made for kids even though comic books seem to have forgotten that. They have finally hit that age where they like to dress in black and use lots of blood and sexual themes because its "mature".

Ahhh the days of being a teenager. Acne and apprehension, the dogs of war.

Perhaps a bit of hyperbole, but I wouldn't say that to a 17 year old.

Still, comic books would do well to remember that as a medium with colorful characters with superpowers their main audience is kids. Those are the people who will spend their hard-earned allowance on merchandise and new issues.

But to do it they need someone to look up to. That notion has been abused so far after DC's universe reboot, but there is still hope.

His name is Captain Marvel.

For those who aren't already nodding along and in the know we'll keep it simple.

Captain Marvel is the adult alter ego of young Billy Batson who was chosen to be the champion of good by a wizard.

No, you didn't misread that.

Oh and he is friends with a talking tiger named Mister Tawny who dresses like a human.

As for villains, he routinely fights an evil old lady, a fish-like pirate, crocodile spacemen, several evil doctors and scientists, and a mind-controlling worm from another planet.

Why Hollywood hasn't pilfered this and made an entire campy movie series off this is beyond me. The comics even read like a Saturday morning theatre special. This is a hero whose powers are to be fast, brave with fighting ability, power to resist spells and attacks, strength, and super smarts.

How does he get these powers. Why he calls down a bolt of lightning by shouting a catchphrase (SHAZAM) of course. What else would he do?

He can even use the bolt of lightning as a weapon.

The fact that the Green Hornet and Daredevil have movies while this sits on the shelf is ludicrous. Of all the silly child empowerment movies made like Home Alone, this one not only strips away any cheesy sense of reality, it gives kids what they really want.

The chance to be a perfect superhero adult who can do what they want. The chance to not beat up on adults but be one.

And that is the ultimate trip for a kid.

It might even make a few want to pick up comic books. Wouldn't that be something?

Or as Batson would say....

picture courtesy of Christian Meyn

Failure Club: It's About Time Someone Said it.

2012-01-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

creator credit Stuart Miles

For those who haven't checked it out already, the Failure Club is an Internet show on yahoo made by Morgan Spurlock of the famous Supersize Me documentary. In it he finds a group of people who are all terrified to try something because society has told them that they could fail, but endeavor anyway.

Their struggle to make their dreams come true while grappling with society's expectations of success is compelling stuff.

It has inspired to have people make Failure Clubs all around the world.

And it's about damn time.

I'm surprised more people aren't left scratching their head as to why it took so long for a show like this to crop up. I'm even more surprised that it is on the Internet and not on TV.

Then again I'm sure TV execs don't want to have their viewers seeing plucky underdogs fail.

But you know what? Life is failure. At least any life well-lived will have failure in it.

This blog could be a failure. Trying to write for a living could be a failure.

Anything in life that could possibly give you something back involves failure.

It also involves hard work. Countless hours poured into it with little to no money to show for it. And then if you are lucky, determined, smart, and happen to hit the right day you'll succeed.

If I should die in the attempt to succeed I would like my tombstone to read: "Here lies Matthew who failed greatly".

It's a damn sight better than wasting my time while waiting for the economy to get better.

So thank you Morgan Spurlock for trying to remind America why it was so great.

Because it was built on the backs of failures who dusted themselves off and got up again to try another day. It is something we seem to have forgotten and hopefully this show is the boot in the ass we need.

Cyrano & Writing: God Only Nose!

2012-01-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

from rsmoviedownloads.com

I'm not a fan of introduction blogs. People don't come to a site to be told what they will be getting, they want it to already be there.

Since this blog is going to be focused on literature and story telling, no matter what medium it comes in, it's only fair that the first blog should be about the writer's favorite book.

Cyrano is a funny play that, while romantic, never went over the top and became nauseatingly sweet. It was dark, it was serious, and it had even sharp wit to make a reader enjoy it's contents.

That is the easy part of this post. Admitting the humor.

The harder part is saying what really made Cyrano connect.

The idea of not being adequate.

In the play, Cyrano is a writer who has serious skill with a pen and the same amount with a sword. He is brash, intelligent, dangerous and admired or despised by everyone he meets. He seems like a character who knows what he is and doesn't understand the notion of shame.

Throughout the piece he flaunts authority and laughs at the implications of his actions.

His only physical deformity is a massive nose which people ridicule him for and which he dismisses easily.

At least on the surface.

It is only when he talks to his cousin, Roxane, that people see him become weak. He removes all of his bravado and shows us weakness. He actually does feel like a monster because of his nose and doesn't believe a woman could ever love him.

The idea that we aren't good enough for something is a powerful theme. No matter how much someone is capable of there is always a part of us that feels inadequate.

And so we rely on our strengths and show them to the world while hiding our inadequacies. If we are athletic we show how good we are at sports. If we are intelligent we show off our report cards.

Cyrano reminds us that no matter what we have, there is always a part of us that feels less than worthy.

It's something that we all deal with and something that deserves to be looked at from time to time.

And with enough introspection there may even be a way to triumph over doubts no matter how monstrous they seem.

Or as Cyrano said, "I feel too strong to war with mortals. Send me giants!"