12.31.03
Posted in forum archive at 1:55 pm by
Officially, it was a pretty bad year for the music labels. Sales were down almost 5% off of 2002’s dismal numbers, people have completely replaced their old vinyl and tapes with CD’s (a pretty large profit center till now), and the rabid dog named RIAA didn’t win the companies any friends. However, the label’s woe by no means meant that the music itself was bad.
Dispite reduced cash, there were a number of albums this year I made a point of picking up. Perhaps I’m the only one left who actually buys music but these were the artists that had my support in 2003:
White Stripes – Elephant
Hot Hot Heat – Make Up the Breakdown
Matrix Reloaded – Soundtrack
Bt – Emotional Technology
Paul Oakenfold – Bunkka
Crystal Method – Tweekend
FischerSpooner – #1
Billy Idol – VH1 Storytellers
Dirty Vegas – Dirty Vegas
ColdPlay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
And while not getting out and seeing many bands in concert this year, watching Radiohead live was such a treat I may be satisfied for a long time to come. 
So interesting question – did anyone even buy any music this year? Or have we just moved on to other things or *ahem* other p2p usage? :unsure:
Permalink
Posted in forum archive at 11:50 am by
The end of the year is a time to reflect, assess, and gripe aloud at just where all the time went. Everybody and their mother seems to have a list of ‘best games of 2003′. But if you’re like me most likely you haven’t played nearly enough of these time consumers (or time wasters) to be able to fully comment.
But what did you play in 2003? What drove you to completing what you did? And what was your favorite game of 2003?
[color=green:85290f3042]Games I Played in 2003:[/color:85290f3042]
new (to me)
[color=green:85290f3042]Age of Mythology (completed)
SimGolf
Links 2003
Unreal 2003 (completed)
Sims Online (briefly in Beta)
Neverwinter Nights (completed)
NWN – Shadows of Undrentide (completed)
Freedom Force (completed)
Freelancer
Rise of Nations
Inside Pitch 2003
[/color:85290f3042]
oldies that had staying power
[color=green:85290f3042]Halo (xbox)
StarCraft
Alpha Centari
Quake III
Sim City 3000[/color:85290f3042]
Out of all of those I most definately spent the most time with Neverwinter Nights and its expansion, SoU. Some bemoan the lower graphic quality. However, I think the fact that I can hop online and find literally hundreds of free gaming worlds to advernture in more than outways any low-res pics. Getting leveled up never felt so good. :upper::upper::upper:
If I knew I had another 20 hours I’d run out and grab the recently released Hordes. But considering all the outstanding projects currently on my plate its probably best to let this slide for a few months.
Who’s next?
Permalink
12.15.03
Posted in forum archive at 12:56 pm by
When the Sims Online came out I thought it was a great opportunity to view human nature in a bubble. The interactions between real players in an environment that was mimicking reality had to give some insights into how people behave.
A year after the official launch what has happened? Shadow Goverments that rule with fear and violence, money laundering by criminal mafias, and child prostitution for real cash that humiliates avatars that are ‘black’ (warning, extreme language in that last one). Basically all that is sick and twisted has found a home online. It’s almost as if the fact that ‘no one is getting hurt in real life’ makes this kind of behavior ok. And Maxis, the publisher of Sims Online, allows it to happen.
Meanwhile Maxis terminates the account of Urizenus, the guy who is carefully keeping track of all the above stuff. He posted the url for his site The Alphaville Herald in his player profile. That got him booted.
What kind of world are we living in? More importantly, what kind of worlds are we building? 
Permalink
12.13.03
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:02 pm by
Filename: mutednoise-zerozillion-ramen_v2.mp3
Length: 3:45
File Size: 3.42 MB
Format: 128 kbps variable bit rate MP3
Released: 12/05/2003
Notes: Created upon request for zerozillion, a long time friend of mutednoise and fellow electronic music artist. Over time the remix eventually gave way to an entirely new track using the original Zerozillion samples.
Lyrics:
What is going on?
Everything turned out all wrong.
But I am a believer,
I am a believer,
I am a believer,
I am a believer,
Even if no one else is,
Even if it all fizzed away.
A closed book -
A locked door,
A short fuse and
Words ignored.
A heavy hand,
A fall from grace:
A pack of Ramen that’s made to taste.
But I am a believer,
I am a believer,
I am a believer,
I am a believer,
Even if no one else is,
Even if it all fizzed away.
But I am a believer,
I am a believer,
I am a believer,
I am a believer,
Even if no one else is,
Even if it all fizzed away.
A closed book -
A locked door,
A short fuse and
Words ignored.
A heavy hand,
A fall from grace:
A pack of Ramen that’s made to taste.
These are the things I think about.
They’re loud enough, no need to shout.
-A closed book-
They’re loud enough, no need to shout.
-A locked door-
They’re loud enough, no need to shout.
-A pack of Ramen-
They’re loud enough, no need to shout.
-A pack of Ramen-
They’re loud enough, no need to shout.
-A pack of Ramen-
Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:58 pm by
Filename: mutednoise-VenusHum-SoulSloshing(immodest_mix).mp3
Length: 4:18
File Size: 3.92 MB
Format: 128 kbps variable bit rate MP3
Released: 7/16/2003
Notes: Currently also available at Acid Planet.
Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:55 pm by
Filename: mutednoise-schneider-reality_check_(head_bob_mix).mp3
Length: 4:57
File Size: 4.44 MB
Format: 256 kbps variable bit rate MP3
Released: 5/18/2003
Notes: Currently also available at Acid Planet.
Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:52 pm by
Filename: mutednoise-fiction_plane-wise_(gov_glitch_mix).mp3
Length: 3:30
File Size: 3.18 MB
Format: 128 kbps variable bit rate MP3
Released: 6/12/2003
Notes: Currently also available at Acid Planet.
Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:49 pm by
Filename: mutednoise-Blue_Man_Group-What_is_Rock_(stutterful_mix).mp3
Length: 3:21
File Size: 3.04 MB
Format: 128 kbps variable bit rate MP3
Released: 8/18/2003
Notes: Currently also available at Acid Planet.
Permalink
12.08.03
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:28 pm by
I noticed in another thread Raisin refering to what we’ll do, or how we should handle something. I just want to clarify what that means at this point.
I’m being really anal about this but I’ve seen enough examples where people start together on a project and as soon as a whiff of money drifts past friendships get broken, people get pissed, and members feel entitled to code, money, etc. I’ve also dealt with enough shady characters at Utah startups to know that its not just online where this happens.
We are a team in that documentation review, feature suggestions, and community feedback are all our responsibilities. Expenses, assets, outage headaches, coding, any income, and showers of gold coin from well-wishers are not a team thing (again, that hasn’t happened or will likely happen in the near future). Those are my responsibilities to pay and track. However, I am committed to keeping those things open and availbalbe so that you can see how they’re being handled (hopefully learning and growing in preparation for your own game in the process).
Again, I know I’m being real anal about this. But its really in our best interest to get these things defined now and avoid ruining friendships and a lot of hurt feelings later.
Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:17 pm by
Here is some more info about the Amazon.C stuff.
First off, the musicmogul/Amazon.C music browser is up for your use/amusement. It’s not pretty but its functional and can be found at:
http://musicmogul.biz/test/amz_find.cfm
It defaults to a U2 search but don’t let that scare you. Putting in an artist will initiate a call to the Amazon.C servers. It’ll pull the appropriate info back and then display it. Some album covers have empty placeholders – these will return empty boxes but will not break the system (for an example of a pretty, complete listing, try searching for ‘KMFDM’). Clicking on a listing or the relevant album cover will take you to the Amazon.C page for that product where you can purchase it.
This is primary how musicmogul will fund itself. Instead of having a PayPal donation button or accept direct ProPay transactions players will be encouraged to buy the music associated with each one of the artists. Clicking on the artist anywhere in the game will take one to the artist page which displays the album covers and purchase links.
Permalink
« Previous entries Next Page » Next Page »