The new midlife crisis
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Photo illustration by Andy Cox.
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The new midlife crisis
L.A. Noire Review
Source: “L.A. Noire,” developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, delivers a cinematic gaming experience following the character Cole Phelps through his career as a detective. The game incorporates photorealistic faces to portray the emotions of its characters.<img class=" alignright" title="The atmospheric title screen for L.A. Noire." src="http://accidentallygaming.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/la_noire_screenshot_2.png?w=300&h=168" alt="" width="300" height="168" /> This is an important feature of “L.A. Noire,” as it expects the player to read the facial cues of suspects and witnesses in order to determine the validity of their testimonies. After questioning, the player is offered three options once a character has finished their story: Truth, Lie and Doubt. Cole can believe their stories, allowing them to continue their train of thought, and grant valuable information (or, in the case of a lie, misinformation). If the player chooses to call the suspect into doubt Cole will question the statement’s logic or threaten violence if the testifier doesn’t set the record straight. The final option is to catch the suspect in a lie, and to prove it with evidence discovered through the investigation.Though this mechanic is immensely satisfying upon completion of a successful interrogation, it doesn’t always behave in the way one might want it to. The “Doubt” option can be particularly dubious, triggering dialogue ranging from a simple assertion that the testifier knows more than he or she is letting on, to actually insinuating full blown murder charges. It is extraordinarily frustrating for Cole to make a wild accusation and frustrate the witness, especially when it causes the interrogation to end. In spite of its flaws, this is a unique game with a lot of great things going for it. “L.A. Noire” manages to seamlessly incorporate shooting sequences, chase scenes, interrogation, investigation, and exploration points together in the same game without bowing too much under the weight of its own ambition. Most games attempting to diversify their gameplay ultimately fail and only manage to detract from the core gaming experience which they originally set out to portray. “L.A. Noire” makes its primary goal to tell an engaging story with interesting characters. I find it ironic that it makes the player feel more in-control of the plot flow than most sandbox games would dare assert. While “L.A. Noire” may not be a new gold standard for storytelling in games, it’s certainly an interesting turn, and I for one would love to see more games coming from a similar angle in the near future. “L.A. Noire” earns a very gritty M rating from the ESRB, containing blood and gore, sexual themes, strong language, use of drugs, and violence, this isn’t one for the kids.
The new midlife crisis
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My cohort’s acts of midlife rebellion are invariably less flash and extravagant because we still have most of our mortgage to pay off that’s (if we’re lucky enough to be on the housing ladder) and we know there isn’t much retirement income to look forward to.
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The new midlife crisis
Indie Developer Profile: Derek Yu
Source: When it comes to the indie game development community, few developerss can claim to be as notable as Derek Yu. Spelunky and Aquaria are his most recent and probably most well-known projects, but his work has been around for far longer than either of the two games. His earliest game creation listed on his website (derekyu.com) dates back to 1999. <img class="alignright" title="Aquaria Concept Art" src="http://www.derekyu.com/images/art/nautilus-big.jpg" alt="" width="277" height="221" /> Yu is a talented artist, and a regular blogger. He is also the main man behind one of the largest indie gaming resources on the net, TIGSource. (tigsource.com) Many small indie games have been discovered through this site; it has been a vital medium of distribution for budding developers who may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Though Yu is well versed in many forms of artistic and technical media, I’d like to utilize this article to hone in on his fantastic game design. His site has acted as a springboard for so many small indie games to become roaring successes, a lot of Yu’s work has appeared as a mere whisper in the gaming community at large. My first encounter with one of Yu’s games was also in fact his newest game Spelunky, shortly after its launch a few years back. I was immediately taken by the retro-like graphics and soundtrack. The game was difficult, but extremely addictive, and so I found myself spending many hours on it. In Spelunky, every level of the cave is generated randomly by the computer. One might expect a feature like this to cause the game to feel mundane and sloppy, but to my surprise, the generator was sophisticated enough to create all sorts of interesting environments. In fact, Spelunky contains many puzzles and encounters which require tactical thinking and much trial and error. Now, here’s why this is awesome: To make a game with great level design that keeps the player engaged is not exactly rare, but can be somewhat uncommon in mainstream games today. Yu has not only created a game with great level design, but a game that DESIGNS great levels at random. That’s quite a feat. The variation from level to level truly means that the player can’t know what to expect. In a game all about adventuring into a treasure-filled cave, it’s a fitting gameplay feature. This combined with mysterious pseudo 8-bit music and vibrant graphics tie it all together to produce a complete sense of exploration. The game is loaded with humor and quirks and will easily keep you entertained for hours. It’s free for PC, so there’s really no reason not to give it a fair try. (spelunkyworld.com) Yu has produced loads of other great games including Aquaria, an adventure game which received overwhelming critical support, as well as The Eternal Daughter, a story driven and very well-designed “Metroidvania.” Links to all of these games can be found on Yu’s homepage (again, derekyu.com).As Spotify declare that 42 is the age people start listening to chart music again, we examine the new rules of having a midlife crisis. How did we swap the Ferrari for Taylor Swift?
Wear it dry, and you’ve got your standard dusting of color—classic and predictable (in a good way). But wet! Wearing it wet opens a whole new world of opportunity. “What you’re doing is bringing out the pigmented nature of the shadow,” makeup artist Vincent Oquendo says. “Whenever I wet an eye shadow, it’s when I really want it to pop—but it really has to be a special kind of product to be able to blend after it sets. Because a lot of the times when it sets, you get streaking.” Nobody wants that. In order to avoid any wet shadow mishaps, follow these guidelines:
Product
First, go with the obvious: any eye shadow labeled wet-to-dry. The Nars Dual-Intensity line is the standout—the singles come in 12 different shimmery shades, and there’s a corresponding brush (then there’s the newly released Dual Intensity Blush line, which was all over Fashion Week—but that’s a product for another post). Burberry also makes a few very versatile shades specifically for this in their Wet & Dry Silk Shadows. And the technique-specific eye shadow category isn’t just a ploy to get you to buy more product. “You can’t just use any eye shadow for this,” Vincent says. “Certain ones will harden up on top and become unusable because they’re not made for this.”
Baked shadows are also fair game—we’re fans of Laura Mercier’s Baked Eye Colour Wet/Dry and Lorac’s Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio in particular.
For more advanced players, Vincent suggests moving on to straight pigment (MAC or even OCC’s Pure Cosmetic Pigments). With the added moisture, they’ll become easier to layer with other products. For a look with more depth, try using a cream shadow as a based before swiping with a wet powder shadow. “It’s like insurance,” Vincent says. “You’re doubling your wearability.”
Brush
This all depends on exactly what you want to do. “Mind the resistance,” Vincent says, particularly if you’re looking for uniform color across the lid. “I tend to recommend a blender brush, which is the brush that looks like a feather duster. If you do it with a stiff brush, you’re defeating yourself before you even start. The joy of a wet-to-dry is you have to get it right amount of product loaded up, and then it blends itself. If the brush is too stiff, it will leave the shadow streaky and then much harder to control.”
However, if tightlining or waterlining is in the cards, a much thinner brush is required accordingly.
Liquid
Do not, repeat, do not put eye drops, water, or any other sort of liquid directly on your eye shadow. This’ll screw up your product for later use. “Lately, I’ve been wetting the brush with the Glossier Soothing Face Mist, but Evian Mineral Water Spray is good for sensitive eyes,” Vincent says. If the top of your powder does get a little hardened by wet application, there’s a trick to remove it: Get a clean mascara spoolie and “exfoliate” your compact, Vincent recommends. This won’t crack the compact and will make it ready to go once more.
Photographed by Tom Newton.
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