Otaku and Fit - Cosplay/Fitness/Japanese Culture

My Cosplay/Fitness Tutorials + Japanese Culture Blog: http://www.otakuandfit.com https://www.facebook.com/andrewscosplay https://twitter.com/mizunohadouken

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I didn’t want to like Marvel’s Spider-Man after seeing the non-playable demo for the first time at E3 2017.  It just didn’t feel fresh to me, and had a feeling it might be another game in the long line of Spider-Man games that were just “okay.”  I decided though, that at E3 2018 this past week, I should give it another chance and try the playable demo. I’m glad I did.

My original thoughts watching the video demo in 2017 was that the game was trying hard to be like the Arkham Series.  While not necessarily a bad thing (as the style of Arkham was well received), I just found it a bit odd that Spider-Man had his own “Watch Tower” (Capt Watanabe), stealth combat sequences, and a bag of gadgets (such as web ball mines).  Regardless, this year I felt I should have a more open mind and realize characters can change, including Spider-Man.

First Impressions

The nearly 15-minute demo was much better than I expected it to be.  Starting the game web-swinging through New York City was immediately immersive.  Insomniac’s team did a fantastic job with the precision of the controls and subtle graphical additions (such as the screen visuals slightly distorting when you approach high web-slinging speeds).  The audio adds another level of depth, as you can hear the wind rush through the speakers as you sling from building to building. The camera lens flare is a nice touch as well when the sun is within your field of vision.

Combat

The first taste of combat is simple, yet satisfying.  I was right about it feeling a bit like Arkham, but again that isn’t a bad thing.  Being able to seamlessly switch from pummelling enemy to enemy using a variety of punches, dodges, and webshots was very “Spider-Man.” The occasional slow motion cinematic during a combo finisher was a nice graphical touch.  Animations of Spider-Man’s movements were sharp and appropriate. Another thumbs up to the Insomniac team. The music made me feel like I was watching a movie, as it felt similar to the score in the original Raimi Spider-Man trilogy by Danny Elfman.  Speaking of sound, the sound of each hit made each pounding impact feel real and heavy. Oh, I can’t forget about the Spider Sense occasionally slowing down the screen, which seemingly gives you the POV of what Spider-Man feels when it is activated.

The Big Apple

Once I reached the open world aspect of the demo, I thought it was a clever concept to perch up on top of a tower and take a panoramic view to see what possible side quests are available.  From what I experienced, there are various quests, which include helping out the police stop robbers, various “Spider-Man”-type crime fighting scenarios, and an occasional boss. While I didn’t get to do many since it was only a 15-minute demo, I’m hoping there is more variety and incentive to do the side quests in the game.  Sometimes I feel some open world games include side quests just as padding that becomes repetitive, so I would be very pleased if there is some additional incentive for side quests in the full game.

A Shocking Boss Battle with Great Voice Acting

Yep, we got bad puns.  The boss battle with Shocker was my final part of the demo.  What I haven’t brought up yet is how great the voice acting is throughout the demo, and it really shines in the battle with Shocker. Instead of going through any long, drawn-out cutscenes, the conversation between Shocker and Spider-Man takes place throughout the battle.  The script for Spider-Man himself is great – throwing out wisecracks, insults, and sarcastic humor – all through the action. One of my biggest complaints with previous Spider-Man iterations (movie or game) was the lack of humor written in the character script, but I feel what I’ve seen so far from Insomniac’s version is promising.

As for the design of the boss battle itself, while not extremely challenging, I did die a few times before being able to complete it.  Instead of button mashing combat, I like to consider the boss battle something that requires more thought and pattern recognition so it was more like a puzzle.  After dying a few times and finally successfully combing my (poor) dodging skills with the recognition of the pattern and what I was supposed to do, defeating Shocker felt very rewarding.

Last Thoughts

As the demo ended after the defeating Shocker, I felt glad that I gave the game a chance.  I had no intention of buying the game before, but the demo left me wanting to play more and see what else the game and story has to offer.  The question I always ask myself when deciding if I want to keep playing a game is:  “Did you have fun?” …And with Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac, I definitely did.

You can pre-order the game clicking the image below:

Also, check out the limited edition Days of Play PS4 console here:

Why Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac (PS4) is Worth Being Excited For – An E3 Review I didn't want to like Marvel's Spider-Man after seeing the non-playable demo for the first time at E3 2017.  

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Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 6)

Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 6)

Week 6 Week 6 was a more experimental week.  The lesson showed how to add various features such as modify the skybox, create a pseudo-augmented reality, and implement stereoscopic sound.  This assignment worked on: Add a skybox Modify physics of objects Add spatial audio Adding a “highlight” to gazeable objects so user can visualize what is being selected Implement pseudo-AR Process Skybox…

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Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 4)

Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 4)

Week 4 Week 3 implemented buttons on a user interface and 2 different versions of movement.  Week 4 builds further on what can be done using the gaze system and the user interface. This assignment worked on: Instantiating objects through gaze Transforming objects with the gaze system Further selectable options on UI canvas Process: Create buttons for objects to instantiate/transformation and…

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Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 3)

Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 3)

Week 3 Now the the gaze system is in place, a big load of the up front work is done.  Week 3 then focused on using the gaze system to interact with a User Interface as well as implement movement. Week 3’s key points were: Create user interface that is “gazeable” Implement 2 types of movement that can be switched with UI Process: Use built in UI options in Unity to create UI canvas and button…

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Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 2)

Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 2)

Week 2 After week 1’s construction of a scene and proving that the application can be run on a mobile device, week 2 started laying down more of the foundation for a VR app. Week 2’s key points were: Set up gaze system Reticle that shows “gaze target” Reticle changes color when hovering over target Set up gaze functionality Proof of concept of certain events taking place through Unity3d debug…

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Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 5)

Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 5)

Week 5 After week 4 completed implementing the gaze system, week 5 takes a slight transition into something different.  Week 5 was about implementing a way finding technique. This assignment worked on: Implementing a way finding such as a mini map, compass, arrows, or landmarks For the lessons, they explained how to make an overhead minimap Make the User Interface panels draggable so they can be…

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Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 1)

Learning VR App Development Using Unity 3D Recap (Part 1)

I’ve always been a fan of learning, and I always been a fan of games.  When I stumbled upon “Creating Virtual Reality (VR) Apps” class on edx.com, it peaked my interest to start learning game dev type stuff.  I’ve previously messed around a little bit with Unreal Engine 4 and some C++ so I wasn’t entirely new to this. During the next few articles, I’ll outline my experience with the MOOC (Massive…

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“Friend Request” by Eleanor Draws Things Back when I didn't know many cosplay photographers, I thought I made a new friend.  Eleanor knew better.

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“5000 Follower” by Eleanor Draws Things I like meeting meeting people at cons, saying hi, and telling people I've seen online that I enjoy their work.  Wife has occasionally seen this happen to me though...

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"Sadly This Happened" by Eleanor Draws Things

“Sadly This Happened” by Eleanor Draws Things

My wife like to draw comics of some of her experiences observing conventions, cosplay, and every day life.  Sadly, she saw this happen to me a lot.  Has this happened to you cosplayers out there as well?

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Photo by David Ngo

Photo by Hideo Kojima

During San Diego Comic Con 2016, I attended the Hideo Kojima Talk with Geoff Keighley where a video of Ludens, the Kojima Productions mascot, was revealed.  Kojima also presented Yoji Shinkawa’s concept art and the process of how Ludens was created.  Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Hideo Kojima and his work and seeing him again after his hiatus from his… previous place of employment…. was inspiring.  Walking out of that panel, I decided that Ludens would be my next cosplay.  I didn’t want to cheap this one out though because I wanted to make a something Hideo Kojima and his team would be proud of, so I opted for creating a solid armor instead of foam.  Thus started my 10 month journey where I logged over 1000+ hours for this beast.

Scultping the Mask and Helmet

I am big on the importance of the appearance of face/helmet of any costume.  I opted to sculpt the helmet and mask with clay, and then mold and cast a piece from the clay model.  This was my first experience with sculpting so I would say this was the most time consuming process.  I started the mask and helmet in August 2016 and didn’t finish the pieces until March 2017.

Materials

Chavant NSP Clay

Expandable Foam

Sculpting Tools

Stan Winston School Sculpting Techniques DVD

Dremel

Rebound 25

Plasti-paste

Epoxacoat Grey by Smooth On

Epoxamite Fast by Smooth On

Apoxy Sculpt

Cardboard

Steps

I first made a sculpting armature to establish the general shape and provide a frame to throw the clay onto.  For the mask, I modified a skeleton mask and reinforced it with fiberglass. #gallery-0-84 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-84 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-84 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-84 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Modifying Mask

First bit of clay added

For the helmet, I used cardboard to create a general frame around my head, then reinforced with fiberglass as well.  I then filled the inside with expandable foam and mounted it to a piece of wood with pvc pipe. #gallery-0-85 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-85 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-85 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-85 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Building cardboard skeleton

Completed Armature

Expandable Foam

Chavant NSP clay isn’t too easy to work with manually, so I made a heating box using an old box lined with tin foil, and a hole cut out on top to use a lamp to heat the clay.  This made the material a lot more workable. #gallery-0-86 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-86 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-86 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-86 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Box lined with foil

Hole cut

Light placed to heat clay

To learn to sculpt, I watched numerous videos on youtube to pick up on some techniques.  I also bought a training DVD by Dan Lanning who is a great sculptor from the Stan Winston School of Art.  He goes into the tools and techniques he uses to be successful. #gallery-0-87 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-87 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-87 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-87 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

DVD description

After throwing on a bunch of clay on the armatures, the basic sculpting process is rinse and repeat.  I kept using my tools to gradually remove the clay to get the shape I wanted. #gallery-0-88 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-88 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-88 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-88 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Pre-sculpt

Midpoint

Ready for molding

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Laying clay

Midpoint

Pre-mold

Next I used Rebound 25 to make a silicon jacket mold of the pieces, followed by Plasti-paste to create the solid mother mold. #gallery-0-90 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-90 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-90 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-90 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Thickening Mold with Rebound 25

Hard mother mold from plastipaste

Same process for helmet

I cast the mask using Epoxacoat Grey, fiberglass matt/cloth, and Epoxamite resin and then cleaned up the mask with body filler and sanding like I note in my Stealth Iron Man Tutorial #gallery-0-91 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-91 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-91 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-91 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Fiberblass over epoxy

First pull

Copy next to original clay

  The mask painting process was a bit unique due to its carbon fiber pattern.  I used a technique called hydro dipping to get the pattern on there.  After that, I cut out some plastic for the cheek detail pieces. #gallery-0-92 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-92 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-92 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-92 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Black paint before hydrodipping

Carbon fiber pattern dipped on

Cheeks added

The helmet took a few extra steps as need to make 3 separate pieces.  After molding and casting the clay helmet, I cut off the top to work both pieces independently and cleaned both up with body filler/sanding. #gallery-0-93 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-93 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-93 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-93 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Body filler and sanding

Pieces Split

Ready for Mold

Once the main helmet was good to go, I created 2 different molds from that piece with one being the front visor and the other being the main body of the helmet.  I then casted both these pieces out and did further clean up.  Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the helmet mold but it’s more of the same #gallery-0-94 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-94 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-94 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-94 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Mold Prep for front shield

Same process with Rebound 25

Side view of making mother mold

Casted piece for vacuum form

Ready pieces

I filled the front visor piece with plaster which made the thing end up weighing probably over 50 lbs and then had the clear pieces vacuum formed by a local shop for the front piece and a local friend from Beyond Disgusting Studios for the top piece.  These were then cut out and cleaned with a dremel till I had a nice fit on the main helmet. #gallery-0-95 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-95 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-95 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-95 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Raw plastic front

Fitting top plastic

I used Apoxy Sculpt to add the missing sections on the main helmet then threw on some paint.  I then cut out some plastic to create the Mohawk and then super glued on.  I also added the discs, which I will write more about later in the detail piece section. #gallery-0-96 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-96 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-96 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-96 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

After paint

Fitted visors

  Creating the Armor from Foam to Fiberglass

For the rest of the armor, I went through the process of creating a foam piece, then creating a mold from that piece so I could cast out a hard fiberglass piece that could be sanded and cleaned up

Materials

Foam (Click here for my old foam buying list)

Plastidip

Heat Gun

Mold Max Stroke

Plaster Bandages

Contact Cement

Steps

First, I free hand patterns (similar to what I did in my Raiden tutorial which you can read here) and created basically cardboard skeletons which I modified till I got the shape I wanted. #gallery-0-97 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-97 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-97 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-97 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Sooo many patterns

Using the patterns, I cut out each piece in foam and used contact cement to fuse everything together. #gallery-0-98 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-98 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-98 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-98 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Chest

Lower Leg

Thighs

One the structure of the piece was completed, I heat sealed each piece with a heat gun, then sealed with plasidip for good measure, then topped off with some filler primer to assist with filling some of the spots. #gallery-0-99 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-99 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-99 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-99 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Testing helmet

Red primer with cardboard

Thigh prep

I then prepared each piece to mold.  For the foam pieces, I used Mold Max Stroke for the jacket mold, and plaster bandages for the hard mother mold since it was a little cheaper. #gallery-0-100 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-100 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-100 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-100 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Molds

Shoe and calf

Chest

I then casted out each piece, and cleaned them up with body filler/sanding like I did with the helmet. #gallery-0-101 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-101 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-101 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-101 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Chest

Leg

Boot

Once each piece was good enough, I threw on some paint. #gallery-0-102 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-102 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-102 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-102 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Chest

Legs

Shoulder

For the backpack, I opted to keep the piece as entirely foam and used my foam painting technique that you can read here, to finish it off.  Same for the spear tip to keep it convention friendly. #gallery-0-103 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-103 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-103 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-103 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Foam

Paint layer

Good paint match from back to other pieces

Creating the Detail Pieces

Materials

Chavant NSP Clay

Oomoo Silicon Mold Rubber

Smoothcast Onyx

Smoothcast 65D

Steps

For the various detail pieces for the armor such as the discs and clips, first thing I did was sculpt a rough piece in clay.

I then molded each piece using the pour on mold technique.  Basically I surrounded each clay model with a box and poured the Oomoo over.  Below are the end result molds #gallery-0-104 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-104 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-104 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-104 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Various detail piece molds

Closer look

I then casted each piece in either Smoothcast Onyx or 356.  It doesn’t really matter; I just had both laying around to use. #gallery-0-105 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-105 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-105 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-105 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Rough Casts

Since the clay pieces were not perfect, I further sanded each pieces before adding on paint. #gallery-0-106 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-106 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-106 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-106 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Discs discs discs

  Mounting

Once all the pieces were done, it was time for mounting.  Since I am horrible at sewing, my friend Sharon sewed together the jacket and pants for me.  I basically used the same mounting techniques I referenced in my Stealth Iron Man tutorial and my Raiden tutorial to put everything together.  Had the flag printed and mounted onto a PVC pipe and it was good to go.

#gallery-0-107 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-107 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-107 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-107 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

First suit up

Ludens swag

Flag

Legs test fit

Upper test fit

Suit Up

Once it was complete, it was off to E3 where I had the most amazing experience of being able to present my costume to Hideo Kojima and the Kojima Productions team.  For more post, feel free to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Photo by David Ngo

Photo by David Ngo

Photo by David Ngo

Ludens (Kojima Productions Mascot) Cosplay Tutorial During San Diego Comic Con 2016, I attended the Hideo Kojima Talk with Geoff Keighley where a video of Ludens, the Kojima Productions mascot, was revealed. 

[mizunohadouken]

Due to some amazing circumstances, I was able to attend my first E3 this year.  It was something on my bucket list after I had seen the advertisements in the old EGM magazines I used to buy when I was younger.  I have heard from others that have previously attended E3’s to expect a lot of lines, especially with this year being open to the public vice an industry/media only convention.  Regardless, I was excited to attend.  Seeing the grandeur of the booths was amazing, from the full “New Donk City” set piece of Super Mario Odyssey from Nintendo, to the recreation of Kamurocho from the Yakuza series, and the sheer size of booths from publishers like Microsoft and Sony.  It reminded me of how amazing the Marvel booths used to be at San Diego Comic Con in the past.

I spent a majority of the event just soaking in the atmosphere and walking through all the booths, but I did want to try to demo a few games.  After watching the various press conferences, I decided the games I wanted to try were Need for Speed Payback, Mario Odyssey, and Detroit: Become Human.  I didn’t really want to wait in line for anything else.  Unfortunately, I was not able to demo Detroit: Become Human due to PlayStation’s RSVP system filling up within seconds of opening up.  Oh well!

Super Mario Odyssey

Wife and I waited for about 75-90 minutes to demo Super Mario Odyssey.  We chose to stay in the shorter line inside the booth to play the handheld version since I thought it was nicer to be in the environment of the Nintendo booth vs being outside the booth in a crowded line.  There were 2 levels to choose from with one being “New Donk City” and the other being the desert.  We both opted for New Donk City.  The demo only lasted 10 minutes before an auto “Thanks for Playing” prompt would pop up, but man that was a great 10 minutes of gameplay.  I am generally not a fan of open world games but I thoroughly enjoyed the open world feel of Super Mario Odyssey.   10 minutes was by far not enough time to explore.  The vast city scape felt huge and the visuals were beautiful.  The motion controls of Mario’s new gimmick hat were clever and reminded me a little bit of the controls of Super Mario Galaxy.  I just wanted to keep playing and explore every corner of the city.  Yeah, Nintendo got me.  Definitely going to purchase the game, that is if I can find a Nintendo Switch that isn’t overpriced =P  Nintendo also gave us some pretty sweet Mario pins and visors for demo’ing the game.  It was a nice add on for our long wait.

Need for Speed Payback

There was something about the Need for Speed Payback demo during the EA press conference that made me want to play this game.  I’m not even a fan of the Fast and the Furious movie series, but I thought the demo looked pretty fun so I decided to try it out.  By day 3, there was no line at the Xbox booth to try it out.  I’m pretty horrible at driving games, so no surprise I crashed and failed a lot.  My driving was definitely un-epic and looked horrible compared to the EA press conference demo.  Regardless, I had a lot fun playing due to the pretty sweet soundtrack, voice acting, and clever cinematics.  It definitely has a movie feel and the music gets you pumped and going when you’re speeding through the highway battling other vehicles that are trying to run you off the road.  I had enough fun that I’m considering purchasing the game when it is released.  I can feel that the full game can probably feel repetitive, but I think the story will be engaging enough to keep playing.

Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash

What started out as laughing and joking at a hilariously perverted game ended up a fairly enjoyable demo.  The tag line to the collectors edition says it all though, “No Shirt, No Shoes, ALL Service.”  Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash is essentially a 3rd person shooter with water guns with plenty of fan service additions for those who love seeing barely any clothes on young anime girls.  I demo’d the game twice and opted for the “death match” type team battle mode instead of the story mode.  There are some interesting mechanics such as the joint use of water as your ammo, dash, and jet pack.  Basically instead of hitting reload for just ammo, there is a period where you have to refill your water gauge by holding the reload button.  No fishing for ammo like on other shooters.  Essentially you have infinite ammo as long as you take the time to hit the reload button (think old school arcade shooters like Time Crisis/House of the Dead/etc).  There is also the use of cards using the d-pad to give yourself certain advantages mid-game, though I had no idea what was going on most of the time.  Outside the normal gameplay, an obvious big selling point of the game is the fan service where you can down an adversary, hit a button to start a separate animation, then repeatedly shoot your opponent till her bikini falls off revealing body parts conveniently covered with light.  Yep, that type of game.  Wife and I were also given some free plushies for playing the demo.

Blasters of the Universe VR Bullet Hell

Since I have never tried VR before, I wanted to demo to at least one game before I left.  Blasters of the Universe VR Bullet Hell is what I played and it was a fun first experience for VR.  The basic concept is shoot and dodge.  Not much to say about this one other than it’s a marathon of shooting whatever enemies come up at you.  Your two options for defending yourself is to either physically dodge or use your left hand, which is your shield, to block any incoming bullets.  The people working the booth noted that those that usually have sickness playing VR will be okay playing this game since movement is controlled by your body vs watching video movement from the googles.  I had fun playing, but this was probably only a one time thing for me.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Live Gameplay

I wasn’t able to successfully RSVP for any of the Sony demos,  but I did get a chance to watch the live gameplay demo of Marvel’s Spider-Man.  Basically Sony have several theater rooms set up for different games and we got to watch one of the developers play through the demo.  Spider-Man looked great.  It had the feel of the Arkham series of Batman games while still maintaining the whit of Spidey.  I did find it odd though that Spider-Man had the ability to set up gadgets to stealthily incapacitate enemies.  It almost looked too much like the Arkham series, but I think it is something I can overlook.  I’d have to see more of what is coming up from the game, but it will most likely be a game I want to play.

  The pretty much sums up my experience from E3.  Overall, if you’re a fan of video games I would recommend attending the event at least once but be prepared for lines.  If you hate waiting in lines, then this place probably isn’t for you.  I’m not sure if I will go again in the future, but if this is the only time I attend in my life I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

E3 2017 Due to some amazing circumstances, I was able to attend my first E3 this year.  It was something on my bucket list after I had seen the advertisements in the old EGM magazines I used to buy when I was younger.  

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Bang "Silver Fang" Cosplay from One Punch Man

Bang “Silver Fang” Cosplay from One Punch Man

Here are some select pictures of my Silver Fang cosplay from One Punch Man taken by my amazing friends. Not a hard cosplay to make, but I did have to learn a bit of make-up as well as diet a good 8 weeks to get as lean as I did. I could have gotten leaner, but it’s all for fun anyways.

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Venom Snake Makeup and Cosplay Tutorial – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain I frequently get questions on how to attached the horn when cosplaying Venom Snake and how to tie the scarf.  

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This is why fat #chocobo is fat @SQEX_MD_NA @SquareEnixUSA @SquareEnix #finalfantasy #squareenix #mandms

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The intention was to recreate the scene in the top photo, but I can't unsee the fact that I look possibly naked haha. Free! always being unintentionally gay... Sousuke: Me Haru: @alchymies Photo: @heulangel #cosplay #iwatobi #samezuka #freeanime #nanaseharuka #yamazakisousuke #eternalsummer #freeeternalsummer

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Damn it, I'm never messing w #bobafett again. Boba Fett 2.0: @el_fett Edit by @sengokujidaishinobi #sdcc #comiccon #sdcc2015 #starwars #theforceawakens #streetfighter #feilong #brucelee #capcom