I've now been at Destructoid for well over a year. In that time, I have written probably far too many underquality blogs, but still I enjoy it and hopefully you do to.

However, I never wrote an introduction blog, which is like a ritual round these parts of the blogs. See the thing was, I didn't want to announce myself. I thought I would slip in and start writing, rather than announcing my presence without anything to back it up. That's why my first blog was a geniune piece I had written up rather than just a intro. I felt like I had to prove myself as not just another spammer. So time passed on, and it got further and further away, I felt like it would be silly to do an intro blog 4 months after I had started. Also my insecurity got the better of me, telling me "Why would these strangers want to know about you?"

So here I am, 1 year and One month later, without you guys knowing much about me besides my sidebar column and my "10 Things", so here I am, going for broke, on an into blog 1 year late.

My name is Alexander, or Alex for short. I used to be called Alexei, but that's a different story. I am 15 years old (14 when I started blogging) and I live in this melting pot of a city called London. I'm Portuguese, English and Irish (in that order)

I started playing games around the foetus stage of development and haven't stopped since. I have gone threw two Game Boy Advance machines, two PSP's,a laptop, and a VideoStation (This was one of the greatest collection of arcade games ever made bunged into one £90 beauty, I will never forget that machine). I have decided to make my way to Destructoid after witnessing a Machinima team up, and migrated to the blogging arena after reading in a book that it's a great way to start in the game industry. Thankfully, with the benefit of hindsight, I'm glad to say this has become something much more than that, and I wouldve given up long ago if not for this community.

I'm hoping to bring you some more blogs which hopefully might be passable in regards to the high standards of this wonderful community. It hasn't definetly been an elightening experience hanging out with strangers willing to put their souls into their work for nothing more than because they want to.

You guys rock out with your c**ks out!



Also, I'm learning to use photoshop and I followed a tutorial and made this. I think it's pretty cool but I'll leave that up to you to decide.



Totally not cheap, shameless self-promotion at all.

My first real interview from the other side! Up until now, I had only interviewed from the side of the people who create machinima or video-game esque creations, but now, I actually managed to land an interview with an actual game/animation company!



This interview is with the studio, but more specifically regarding their indie hit Lume. It was released on the 9th of May, 2011 on Steam and Mac, and more recently, it was released on iOS. I actually gave away a free Steam key for it a while back (which bbain won), and having bought it myself, can highly recommend it. Definetly one of my favourite indie games ever made, it has really stuck with me and I'm itching to hear more about any kind of sequel.

And if you don't take my word for it:

[i["Undoubtedly one of the most unique-looking games around."[/i]

Eurogamer

"The best of point and click gaming... amazing visual presentation."

Jay is Games

"Wow! The effect is breathtaking."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

"A rare treat. Even Lume’s main menu is more beautiful than most big-budget shooters."

Bit-Gamer

"Charming to the extreme."

Games TM

See?

In this interview, I talked to Katherine Bidwell, one of the founding members of State Of Play and general awesome person.


1) Who are you and what does your studio/you do?
We're State of Play and we're an Indie Games Development team in London

2) How did your studio originate?
We came from an Browser Game/Graphic Design/Animation background and we were founded in 2008,

3) How big is your team?
The team expands and contracts as and when it's needed currently there is a team of 3

4) Why do you do the work?
We do the work because we love it, as simple as that. I don't know what else we would be doing! It's a fantastic way to express yourself and your creativity via playing.

*Specific questions about Lume start here*

5) Where do the idea for Lume come from?
I think the idea for Lume had been mulling in our heads for quite a while, aesthetically we were and still are drawn to hand-made qualities, these were present throughout our previous games and animations. So this hand-made approach seemed natural for Lume, and we took it to the extreme approach. The Puzzle Adventure genre, are the type of games we had enjoyed playing for many years and influenced us hugely with Lume. From the classic point and click games such as Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island to the recent re-appreciation of the genre such as Machinarium and the Professor Layton series were influences on us. Along with this the idea of a small girl and her Grandad having adventures together stuck a chord with us early on.


6) How did it go from a concept idea, to a committed project?
Lumi as a character was developed early on and we were working on lots of different hand-made buildings and towns just as kind of little paper sculptures. We worked on those ideas separately, working on these around other projects we had. It was only when we put the concept together (Lumi's animation sequence and the paper sculptures) and saw the effect these two elements had. That was the point when we committed to the project, and knew it could be a fantastic game.

7) Why use such an innovated concept to design your game world (the creation of the real life set)?
We had been working with hand-drawn elements a lot with our previous projects, especially in our game Headspin: Storybook. We have a real fondness for papercraft and pop-up books, and we wanted to create this style on the screen. The beauty you get with creating a real set is that you can create elements that would almost be impossible to create using a 3D package. The subtle changes of light, the beautiful shadows cast on the walls, we think that if we made this game any other way these subtleties wouldn't of occurred as well. It was also a really fun and satisfying way to make a project.

8) Where did the simple yet compelling storyline originate from?
I think it came from the desire to put a human touch on a very simple idea. That being the power is off and you must fix it with sustainable ways. Everything else about the storyline evolved from that premise. We loved this idea of a Grandad that would love creating puzzles for his Grandaughter, and it just developed from that.


9) How long did it take to create?
On-off 6 months in total for the first build

10) How much love did your team put into it?
A whole lotta of love! I don't think projects get made without it.

11) Is there any news regarding the sequel (i.e. is it in production?)
Yes it's in production, and we're really excited about it. Lumi's world is about to get a whole lot bigger as she explores beyond Grandad's house. We're stocking up on paper, card and string now!

*Specific questions about Lume end here*

12) Most importantly, do you enjoy your work?
Yes, it's a joy to be part of this project, and as an Indie Developer you have to or else things simply won't get made.


Really, I really want to give my biggest thanks to State Of Play for giving their valuable time up to answer my questions. Thank you so much guys.

I honestly feel like I was born in the wrong time. The 60's would've been my decade. The decade were history was made, one day at a time. Where the biggest advances of both peace and war have ever been made. Where hippies roamed aimlessly in VW vans, smoking copious amounts of drugs and not washing. And the music, GOD THE MUSIC! The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan Donovan, The Kinks need I go on?

I get this same feeling when I play videogames.

Now it's graphics, and killstreaks, and piracy, and bankruptcy, and pointless rage, and the failure of good IP's due to "not selling enough", people not buying games due to lack of confidence, etc. This is my generation. MY GENERATION! The one which I am a part of?

So why do I hate it so?

Now, of course, we have come so far since the beginning of the 21st century. the new generation of consoles, multi-million dollar IP's such as Halo and Call Of Duty (FUN FACT= 235,000 years of Halo multiplayer have been logged on Bungie's part of the franchise. That's over 800,000 days!!).

We've had the advancement of powerhouse PC's, and so much more I can't even begin to comprehend. So it's not all doom and gloom.

Still, I feel like "The Videogame Reinassance" has ended. Like the well of originality is drying up. And yes, I understand that plenty of new IP's are still being made (Quantum Conundrum anyone?), but with many publishers perched upon their money making IP's such as, yes, CoD, and almost every single game under the EA banner.

The "Noughties" really changed the gaming landscape, just as the previous decades did before. Only this time I can't be sure that it changed it for the better. It's all about the immediate now. How many sales, how long you can keep people interested before they leave for the newer shinier thing.



Even the players now have changed. No longer do you head round to your friends house to play together, why do that when you can do it from the comfort of your own sofabed? The loss of the social aspect is so profound for me, because I experienced that. I went to my friends house to play Pokemon Battle Stadium, and Goldeneye007 on a bruised and battered N64, or on a see through xbox playing Battle Engine Aquila (GREATEST GAME NEVER PLAYED), or the game we invented called "Warthog Wars" on Halo.



In fact, one of my favourtie memories is of a dead IP. When I was at my friends house, we would play guitar hero until it was time to leave. We would then proceed to beg our parents to let us continue playing until it must have been 11:00pm before we left, ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!! This occured almost everytime I went to his house and it is one of my fondest memories.

Now, I have to play CoD with a spoilt brat who rage quits everytime he loses or plays badly. Because co-op is for "gays" (literally this is what is spewed from my friend's mouth). How can we have fallen so far? To see people spewing hate for such an insignificant reason such as being not good at a game? And this infects everything. There's no sense of comradierery, no sense of sportsmanship. Now, everyone sees each other as an asset. You are valued on your usefulness, if you fall below a level, you are booted.

This is why I don't like anonymous multiplayer.

I just don't like this generation. I would love to have been part of the 8-bit or the 16-bit era, and not the indie-inspired retro one that has been revived. I am sure there are those who think it wasn't all that good, but it was so much more brighter. So much more full of hope and friendship. This is why I always visit arcades whenever I spot them. They have this kind of faded aura, that reminds me of the joy games used to bring, not anger, criticism and rage.

I feel like I missed out. And I feel that my ideals are from another time.

But what do I know right? Well I do know something:



Crystal beats the shit out of every other Pokemon game, even those DS ones.

So yeah, jumping on the bandwagon etc etc.

1) My name comes from a cross between my youtube account name and the Mirror's Edge security force



At the young age of *insert here*, I had a sudden addiction to The Clash and The Ramones. So what did I do? I decided to come up with the greatest youtube username ever made.

"Punkface4936"

Okay, let's move on. As I created multiple accounts on the internet, I decided the name was too long. Plus it made no sense as no-one can have a punk face. At the same time, I was playing through Mirror's Edge. In the game, the security force is Pirandello Kruger, or PK.

It is also the first and last letters of the word "Punk". I also dropped the 6 from the name for absolutely no reason. So yeah...most uninteresting name origin ever.

2) I have a file specifically dedicated to game memorabilia (posters, comics, Zelda Ocarina etc)



Unfortunately, mine's only plastic, but still.

So yeah, I decided to do this after my possessions either got lost or they just get f'ed up. I will hopefully upload a gallery on it in the near future. I'm sure you'll all love looking at stuff that isn't yours.

3) I'm depressed...constantly



I've kind of let this seep into my blogs so I'm cheating a little bit, but still.

Yeah, I have no idea if it's medical or anything, I'm just miserable, like constantly. There are times when I'm happy, but mainly it's just boredom and shittyness. I'm not going to dwell on it, so let us move on.

4) I've never played a Zelda game the whole way through

Shocker!! I acutually have no idea why. I start them, and then lose interest. Like ridiculously quickly. I feel a little bit ashamed at admitting this.

5) I actually want to change the world for the better, or at least for my existence to mean something...



...and thank you for voting me as Miss America!!

No, but seriously, the main fear in my life is that my existence will mean nothing. I want to make something out of the short time on this Earth, that's why I plan to travel the world and see what it has to offer...

That and PAX.

6) I kinda suck at games, but I'm stubborn as hell



I once spent 16 hours straight doing the same 20 lap track before I threw my PSP at a wall and broke it.

And if that isn't good enough for you, I spent two years trying to complete Daxter on PSP because I got stuck.

7) The only romantic experience I have ever had is one I spontaneously made up to avoid embarassment when asked about it

*cue audience "AWWWWWWW"

8) At one point, my PSP library was bigger than the selection in my local GAME store



It was actually madness. I counted and everything. I ended up selling half of my library and with each game, I felt a small tinge of regret as I parted ways with my games. It was a sad day.

9) I actually enjoyed the VGA's this year



People seemed kinda pissed that it wasn't all professional, but we gamers aren't really a mature bunch, are we? I thought it was pretty funny, although it could've done with less crappy minigame-esque stuff, but I thought it was decent.

10) I ACTUALLY F**KING LOVE DESTRUCTOID AND YOU GUYS

Seriously, you guys are ridiculously amazing. Every time I quote Dtoid to a certain friend, he always replies with some dickish comment about how Dtoid sucks. And do you know what? I don't care!!

Seriously, you guys all rule. I wish I could give you guys something more than words, but alas I'm broke at the moment and I don't trade sexual favours...you have to buy me dinner first.


So here's to you guys

This is the name of one of my favourite songs of all time. It's done by Gorillaz, a British visual band created by the members of Blur and the narration is provided by Dennis Hopper. Link Below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nxMrRXHqpo

Whenever I listen to it, I always feel like this is what the gaming community has become. Selfish and entitled.

I mean, remember when we played games out of pure enjoyment, regardless of the cost? Now, I see so many great games because people don't feel like paying for it, so to the torrent sites they go. Because they are fucking greedy. Just damaging the industry, because of pure selfishness.

Game companies are the ones who make the games, the one who slave away for what can be years, only for them to be fucked over by the very audience they are trying to promote to. I remember seeing a BBC news clip about a small indie iOS developer who, within an hour of uploading his product, for the measly price of 99p, it was already available on over 50 different jailbreak websites.

But these stories are all too common. People don't care, or don't feel responsible because it doesn't affect the pirate directly. They don't see the person or company they steal from. Even with fat, greedy companies, you're still stealing money which, if paid back, could be used to make better games.

Of course, they probably wouldn't do that, and they would spend it on CEO bonuses and marketing events for Final Fantasy MMXXVIII or COD:MW49 etc. but that's not our responsibility or decision. In fact all we could do is demand our money back and protest.

Or you know, we could stop buying their products.



The Mass Effect thing pissed me off. Almost everyone just kept saying "This is the last EA game I'm buying".

Until Mass Effect 4 comes out. Or in fact, any other fucking game made by the superconglomerate. People abandon their views and their morals for the most primitive instinct besides survival. To want something.

If you boycott something, you make a sacrifice. In the Montgommery Bus Boycott with Rosa Parks, they didn't give up as soon as they thought "Oh, walking is longer and hurts my feet more". They went on. Is it me, or do people just seem to lack this spirit no?

But now, they still want it, as if they feel entitled to it. Personally it just makes me want to vomit. The fact that people will pursue their own selfish goals, regardless of who they hurt. Every employee, every employer, every legitimate consumer is harmed by the effects of a community which has levels of hypocrisy that know no bounds.

Much like the "Strange Folks" who destroy the town, and wake the monkey causing ruin for everyone.

Is this what we look forward to? I mean did you hear Ubisoft's announcement today? It just shows that the way things are heading are making me sad.

I even feel it in the blogs. There are so many blogs from ungrateful people stating their product is not good enough.

I don't know. I'm tired, I'm jaded and I'm probably wrong. Oh well. As it says in the song, "the happy folk are blind". I feel blind, fumbling through a world in which I'm no longer comfortable, where people have stopped making games for enjoyment, but more for money, and consumers are more focused on the money aspect than the game itself.

Maybe it's always been like that though.

I picked up Mass Effect 1 for ridiculous cheapy cheap prices last week, after I watched my friend play through the demo of ME3. It was definetly worth it and it was really great to find something so rewarding to which I had paid absolutely no attention to. I don't give a crap about Bioware's "illusion of choice", I geniunly felt like I had control over Shepard's and the Normandy crew's fate.

However, it was not always a fate I wanted. Even if I had forged it myself.

This is the problem I have experienced with so many RPG's, and has led me to avoid them, as Teddy Atlas in Fight Night Champion commentary says over 300 fucking times in one godamn round, "like the black plague".

I can't accept the responsibility of my actions, which almost defeats the point of a interactive storyline if I try and manipulate the environment down the specific path I want, rather than "rolling with it".



Let me give you an example. During the FEMA Camp mission in Deus Ex : Human Revolution, I spent more time reloading saves than actually playing the mission, simply because I wasn't doing it "right". And by right, I mean the way I wanted it to be. I would fail at a clean sweep of a room, engaging in a massive firefight, only to reload the save the moment an unsilenced bullet flew towards Jensen.

This is something that has ruined my experience of probably one of the most engrossing and incredible genres of all time. Maybe not the genre, but the story. And the story of an RPG is honestly it's bread and butter.

I don't know why I do it. It's completely irresponsible to not accept the actions, but I guess, if I could come up with an excuse, is that it's fun to play God. It's strange to manipulate events, to re-shape them, to rewind and play them out in a different fashion.



It reminds me of the scene in "The Dark Knight", where the Joker confronts Two-Face about "the schemers" and how futile their schemes really are. This reminds me of this. Even though I think I'm in control, it's the other side that control the puppet strings.

So my problem is meaningless then. Even if I create what I deem the perfect "storyline", it's not mine. It was made by writers sitting in a room.

But still, it makes it feel hollow. Like my storyline is artificial, like it's a fabrication...within a fabrication. because I do understand it's not real.

I finished Mass Effect, and against all my instincts, I stuck to my decisions, even if I didn't like the outcome. It wasn't as superficially nice as my previous RPG experiences, but in some way, I kinda felt like I was growing up (just a little). Like the whiny kid inside who whined about not having everything, was put away in a box. And a slightly older, less whiny kid emerged.

It's a start...besides, who wants to grow up anyway?



P.S If you finish this blog and think "WTF? Why have I wasted my time on this that doesn't make sense?", I give you the excuse of not enough sleep, too much excercise today, and a blog I did not devote my full attention to as I was watching the Walking Dead. So for that I apologize...

but I'm not fucking re-writing it.