The General Conversation Area

[Lutga]

I'm 24 and work as a music journalist. It has its perks! I've always had a vague interest in anime/video-game culture in general, but really kicked up a gear a couple of years ago when I got my current job and could actually afford to purchase new releases on a regular basis.

It's kind of spurred me on to take a wider interest in Japanese culture too - learning the language/food etc. I studied English Literature at uni so always like to have a book in hand - I rather pre-emptively started trying to read the Heiki Monogatari earlier this year (it's quite hard going).

 

[jonno394]

I'm studying a degree called Commercial Music. I'm going into 4th and final year in September. I also work in Next, part time during the semester but full time at the moment over the summer.

Commercial Music, sounds intriguing, What you looking to lead in to with that?

Believe it or not, I'm 19 and I'm a Uni student. I've finished my first year a month ago and I am studying Games Software Development which is rather challenging but the maths section is so fun. I don't have a job but I'll be doing Work Experience next year as part of the course.

Younger than I thought! Ooh software development, what sort of games drove you to want to that?

I'm 24 and work for M&S. I've got a degree in sports journalism but I've not been able to get a job in the industry, so focusing on the retail career path now.

I have a degree but ended up in retail for 5 years, (aged 19-24) some of my fondest memories as I made loads of good freinds while I worked - who unfortunately I have lost touch with due to me being unsociable. I was working my way up to management position until I got fired for putting a hole in a plasterboard wall in mens changing room while fooling.

You ever thought about trying to write for local free papers etc or maybe some sports blogs?

I'm 24 and work as a music journalist. It has its perks! I've always had a vague interest in anime/video-game culture in general, but really kicked up a gear a couple of years ago when I got my current job and could actually afford to purchase new releases on a regular basis.

It's kind of spurred me on to take a wider interest in Japanese culture too - learning the language/food etc. I studied English Literature at uni so always like to have a book in hand - I rather pre-emptively started trying to read the Heiki Monogatari earlier this year (it's quite hard going).

Ooh music journalism, you get to go to many gigs because of it? Yeah disposeable income really drove my interest tyoo. ALways liked what I watched on TV (see Tenchi, pokemon, DBZ and Sailor Moon to begin as well as whatever movies the sci-fi channel were showing - Macross Plus and Akira are the first I ever recorded on VHS to watch as a youngster).

 

[NormanicGrav]

Younger than I thought! Ooh software development, what sort of games drove you to want to that?

Video Games was part of my childhood and over the years I wanted to make my own someday. Simpsons Road Rage was my very first game back in November 2001 (a month before even getting the console for Christmas).

Over the past decade I've been influenced by a number of games but mainly Kingdom Hearts and Mass Effect (and even Final Fantasy XV despite it hasn't even been released yet). Thanks to anime it's helped influenced me even more (Epic Boss Battles with Epic OST = Epicness).

During the course myself and a few others were able to make Kurushi (Japanese PlayStation 1 game) on Unity, it was a success in terms of marking (about 94% out of 100, we lost 6% for lack of colorful backgrounds).

 

[Lutga]

Ooh music journalism, you get to go to many gigs because of it? Yeah disposeable income really drove my interest tyoo. ALways liked what I watched on TV (see Tenchi, pokemon, DBZ and Sailor Moon to begin as well as whatever movies the sci-fi channel were showing - Macross Plus and Akira are the first I ever recorded on VHS to watch as a youngster).

Quite a few, but not as many as I used to when I was starting out (I mainly went to build contacts) - now I'm working full time, I kind of treasure the few nights in I get, so am probably more lax about going out to stuff than I should be. Stuff like album playbacks and launch events are great fun though.

I watched Digimon, Cardcaptors and Pokemon back in the day (obviously never linked it to 'anime' at the time) - then got into the Ghibli films when Film 4 launched. From there, I casually picked up Eden of the East and GITS, and have never really looked back since then.

 

[jonno394]

I'm 20 and returning to study Social Sciences at college after taking a gap year, handy too since I'm currently unemployed. My aim is to go on and study Japanese but if things don't pan out then it might be Journalism instead.

STudy the language? Studying another language then teaching english in the country has always been something I wsih I did while 18-25. Maybe later in life.

Video Games was part of my childhood and over the years I wanted to make my own someday. Simpsons Road Rage was my very first game back in November 2001 (a month before even getting the console for Christmas).

Over the past decade I've been influenced by a number of games but mainly Kingdom Hearts and Mass Effect (and even Final Fantasy XV despite it hasn't even been released yet). Thanks to anime it's helped influenced me even more (Epic Boss Battles with Epic OST = Epicness).

During the course myself and a few others were able to make Kurushi (Japanese PlayStation 1 game) on Unity, it was a success in terms of marking (about 94% out of 100, we lost 6% for lack of colorful backgrounds).

Blimey 2001, it's moments like this I realise how old I am, my first console was the NES and my first game was DR Mario back in 1990. I'll look in to that game, you got any of your versions details (ie pics) online?

Quite a few, but not as many as I used to when I was starting out (I mainly went to build contacts) - now I'm working full time, I kind of treasure the few nights in I get, so am probably more lax about going out to stuff than I should be. Stuff like album playbacks and launch events are great fun though.

I watched Digimon, Cardcaptors and Pokemon back in the day (obviously never linked it to 'anime' at the time) - then got into the Ghibli films when Film 4 launched. From there, I casually picked up Eden of the East and GITS, and have never really looked back since then.

My first gig was A supported by Goldfinger and Voodoo Glowskulls. I still remember joining in the booing when the A lead singer left the stage because his back hurt, we chanted for Goldfinger to come back out then because they were rather great. A lead singer came out, bitched at us and carried on his set, wanker.

Ah how could I forget Cardcaptors, loved that too!

 

[Lutga]

I remember A - I think I've still got a CD single (remember those, ha) of Nothing knocking about somewhere.

Cardcaptors was brilliant. What I'd give for British telly to champion an anime show like CITV did back in the day, even if they butchered it with a crap dub.

I remember I used to have a little notebook where I'd write down the name of the card from each episode as soon as the end credits had rolled, ha.

 

[jonno394]

Yeah surprising how much anime was on TV back in the day, I don't have Sky or Virgin so I cant comment on what is available for kids now.

Yeah I never bought CD singles, it was all albums for me, still got the discs stored iin cases from back in the day.

 

[Lutga]

Yeah surprising how much anime was on TV back in the day, I don't have Sky or Virgin so I cant comment on what is available for kids now.

Yeah I never bought CD singles, it was all albums for me, still got the discs stored iin cases from back in the day.

CITV still shows quite a bit of Pokemon (and Power Rangers, as I found out last weekend), but think they've stopped showing Yu-Gi-Oh now - they used to do like four episodes back to back on Saturday mornings from 6am, it was great.

 

[NormanicGrav]

Video Games was part of my childhood and over the years I wanted to make my own someday. Simpsons Road Rage was my very first game back in November 2001 (a month before even getting the console for Christmas).

Blimey 2001, it's moments like this I realise how old I am, my first console was the NES and my first game was DR Mario back in 1990. I'll look in to that game, you got any of your versions details (ie pics) online?

I still have my copy so I took some pictures (I even have the Game Boy Advance version):
http://s4.postimg.org/x9q3cgk1p/20140725_153501.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/z094dy1kt/20140725_153520.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/bol0ounb1/20140725_153529.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/gjepn4lml/20140725_153543.jpg

It was released multiplatform (PS2, Xbox, Gamecube) as far as I'm aware.

 

[jonno394]

Lol i meant pics of the game you developed, sorry for the confursion but at least you kept simpsons in good nick :thumb:

 

[NormanicGrav]

Lol i meant pics of the game you developed, sorry for the confursion but at least you kept simpsons in good nick :thumb:

Haha, yeah I have some:
http://s17.postimg.org/j90rotnzj/Kurushi_1.jpg
http://s17.postimg.org/ykakpflbj/Kurushi_2.jpg
http://s17.postimg.org/s2ro5xay7/Kurushi_3.jpg
http://s17.postimg.org/4lzt75pdb/Kurushi_4.jpg
http://s17.postimg.org/abg1rgvjj/Kurushi_5.jpg
http://s17.postimg.org/ixjbc27jj/Kurushi_6.jpg
http://s17.postimg.org/jcul52tgv/Kurushi_7.jpg

The last picture was an additional Hardcore Mode that I suggested since every game nowadays has it. Unfortunately only powerful computers can play that mode or else it would lag.

In terms of adding levels, it's infinite. The game itself generates an extra row or column each time.

For a comparison, here's the original version.

 

[PandoraHane]

I'm 20 and I've just finished my HND in Art and Design. I'm taking a year out to work on my portfolio and I'm applying to Painting in Aberdeen next year. Fingers crossed >.< I have a job waitressing at a cafe just now, but I'm leaving next week to hopefully move onto new things!

 

[Zin5ki]

Commercial Music..

Does that involve accompanying ITV advert breaks to the works of Prokofiev?

 

[ilmaestro]

I'm old-ish, and got into anime after starting my Japanese course at Uni early in the 2000s. I've done some work in translation, but for the last few years have been working in odds making for a sports betting company. Magic the Gathering is the best game of all time.

work as a music journalist.

That sounds ace!

 

[Lutga]

I'm old-ish, and got into anime after starting my Japanese course at Uni early in the 2000s. I've done some work in translation, but for the last few years have been working in odds making for a sports betting company. Magic the Gathering is the best game of all time.

work as a music journalist.

That sounds ace!

I used to play Magic the Gathering! I always found the lore and artwork fascinating.

Obviously these days, TCG games are generally prohibitively expensive (they're usually like £2.99 a pack now, aren't they?) - and the level of skill needed to play seriously was beyond me. I dabbled in Magic online (as there was no one near me who played) and it just kind of put me off the whole thing - especially as the cards were purely digital, it felt like you were just throwing money away. And new sets were coming out all the time, so there was that constant push to spend more and more.

Reading online about the level of thought and strategy put into TCG meta-games astounds me - how do people work that stuff out?

 

[ilmaestro]

it felt like you were just throwing money away

>_>

As far as strategy and such goes, the good players have such a well versed history in card game play now that they can abstract out the data on the cards and see how they will interact in the context of how older cards interacted, or just relative to effects that are "generally good". If you watch good Magic players start Mongostone for instance, they are almost all instantly amongst the best players in the rankings just by having good fundamentals in that style of gameplay.

I wish I had played years ago, I only started in 2012. ^^;

 

[Vashdaman]

I'm 25 and basically just hang around the toilets of a certain university and try to look like I belong. I may or may not actually be a student of said university.

 

[ayase]

I'm 25 and basically just hang around the toilets of a certain university and try to look like I belong. I may or may not actually be a student of said university.

How do you get away with that? Teach me your secrets.

 

[Vashdaman]

You basically just stand near (but not directly outside) the toilets, and if people try to give you eye contact you look at the floor and avert their gaze at all cost. Occasionally get your phone out and pretend that you're reading or sending an important text. Approximately every 15 minutes it's ok to enter the toilets and shut yourself in a cubicle for 5 or so mins. The disabled toilets are good as you can relax more and chill out once inside, but it's risky as it's super awkward if someone sees you exiting (especially as there is now a sign on the door of those toilets, presumably thanks to my activities, warning non-disabled students to keep out). It's also super annoying on those rare occasions when a real disabled person tries to come in when you're in, they are so bloody determined and automatically assume that it's a non-disabled person in there, even though they have no proof. Like they are the only disabled person at the uni or something!

 

[ilmaestro]

Err.