#brad weber

[scrumpenalty]

All Blacks 2021 Bronco

[heathershomilies]

Israel Folau and Christian Morality

Israel Folau and Christian Morality

I wasn’t sure what to write about today, then I got The Author’s weekly email. The Author is the brilliant Jesus and Mo cartoonist. His strip this week is about religious morality, and it brought to mind the big news story in New Zealand and Australia at the moment. It began on 9 April when Australian rugby star Israel Folau tweeted that all gays were going to hell. Further, he’s not only…

View On WordPress

[enisports-blog]

New Zealand's Weber Condemns Folau's Anti-gay Remarks

New Zealand's Weber Condemns Folau's Anti-gay Remarks #BradWeber #IsraelFolau #NZRPA

Brad Weber

New Zealand’s Brad Weber has become the first top-level rugby player to condemn Israel Folau’s anti-gay comments.

Earlier this month. Australia full-back Folau, 29, said on social media that gay people would end up in hell.

Rugby Australia said it would not punish him for the remarks, but Weber wrote on Twitter: “Sick of us players staying quiet on some of this stuff.”

“I can’t stand…

View On WordPress

[bradjweber]

Video Game Movies Cannot Work

Disclaimer: This piece was originally written as a script for a video that can be seen here.

It’s obvious to anyone that the biggest trend in Hollywood at the moment is the Superhero blockbuster. Marvel Studios has built an unstoppable money printing machine by adapting not only their beloved characters to film, but also the mechanics of universe building and continuity that have kept comic book fans obsessing over these properties for decades.

Hell, adaptation has been an important staple of film almost literally since the invention of the art form. And in recent decades, some of the most ambitious and successful undertakings in the creation of film franchises have almost all been based on stories from another medium, most- often- literary.

Successful film adaptations of books, poems, plays, musicals, radio programs, and television shows are abundant in the industry. But, one medium of storytelling that has yet been able to make the jump is one that’s nearest and dearest to me. Video games.

When you think about video game movies, what probably comes to mind is something like the Resident Evil series, the recent Assassin’s Creed and Warcraft, or maybe... I don’t know... Hitman? Max Payne with- Marky Mark? Not exactly landmark achievements in the space of cinema is what I’m saying.

This, rightfully, begs the question of why Hollywood can tackle outlandish concepts like the ones seen in superhero movies or sci-fi and fantasy adaptations, but have such a hard time making movies out of video games?

And the answer to this, while it may sound shocking or ignorant, is that most, not all, but most video games could not- and should not- be adapted to film.

The reason I believe this is because most impactful moments in video games are created with the belief that the context in which the game will be experienced is by a player with a controller in their hands, who is directly in control of some aspect of the experience.

The quiet Tibetan village in Uncharted 2, the Psycho Mantis boss fight in Metal Gear Solid, the human cost of your actions in Spec Ops: The Line, the pace at which you discover the truth about your sister in Gone Home, and Andrew Ryan’s final speech in BioShock are all examples of moments where a player’s input to the game has a direct relation to the emotional impact that those points in the experience will carry.

On BioShock, this video is actually directly inspired by a Reddit post I saw today about how Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water presented a set of visuals that, to this user, beg to be used to create a BioShock film. Which, to be fair, has been in development hell for a long- long time.

But, this sentiment is one that runs rampant in video game fandom, and completely misses the point I just made about what makes video games so impactful. This is the idea that in order for a video game movie to be good it only needs to capture the aesthetic qualities of a game. This ignores the meaningfulness of these games, and the themes the present, and will leave you only with a husk of these properties, devoid of whatever substance it is that you’d expect.

Yes. Rapture is an extremely interesting setting, and a concept for a world so original I don’t really believe we’ve seen much else like in the ten years since its release.

But, I think the reason BioShock is so impactful is because it's a game, not in spite of it. It isn't incidental that this is the medium chosen to tell this story. BioShock is a game about games, and how players never give any thought to the rules or objectives they're given, no matter how grisly the implications. Which is why the reveal [INCOMING SPOILERS FOR BIOSHOCK, A TEN YEAR OLD GAME] that you never actually had any free will at all is so impactful. Because players are generally told by developers that they’re in control, that they have complete freedom. People who watch movies to don’t have any free will within the story, they don’t even ask for it. But BioShock punishes you for thinking that way in the first place.

In order for a Bioshock movie to work it would need to be a film about stories in movies, or about how we watch them. Which would require a lot of retooling, and rewriting. And at that point you might as well make something else entirely.

A direct adaptation of BioShock would look very nice, yes. And you’d get to see a Big Daddy in live action. Neat. And, you’d get to see Andrew Ryan’s speech recited by some big name actor. But, ultimately what’s the point of all that? These things have already been expertly realized in the way that they were meant to be experienced.

Does the jump to film provide legitimacy to these games? Being made into a film doesn’t provide legitimacy to these stories and experiences. They’re already legitimate in their own right as masterpieces of their artform. Hell, even just by virtue of existing these games are provided legitimacy.

The only option I see for video game adaptations to work is for the people behind these films to take the universes of these games and to tell their own stories within them. This way you can potentially end up with substantive text, all wrapped up in that familiar aesthetic that these fuckin nerds can’t get enough of.

Hollywood must create their own stories because video game stories on a structural level cannot work in the span of a two or even three hour movie. Because they’re too long. The story for The Last Of Us would require almost five three hour movies to tell that story.

Now, you’re probably saying, “but Brad, you could cut out all the gameplay, trim down the cutscenes, and bing bam boom you got yourself a movie.”

And to that I say, “have you not been paying attention for the entirety of like this whole fucking video?” Because look. THIS, would not work without the player being directly responsible for THIS!

That’s not to say I don’t think the world of The Last Of Us can’t be used for a film, just that Joel and Ellie’s story cannot be adapted correctly.

And no. That doesn’t mean we should get a fucking Ish movie either. Discovering that story through the notes is 100% the point of that whole thing.

It’s that line of thinking that leaves you with the Star Wars prequels. [show obi-wan talking about the clone wars]

Surprisingly, Hollywood has kinda started to figure this out. 2016’s Assassin’s Creed took place within the universe of

[bradjweber]

Pokémon GO - Review

“ It was something I’d never really seen a game do before. It brought people together. ”

After what some might call a rather confusing release, Pokemon GO has finally released in the United States. Sorry countries where the game still isn’t out yet; apparently you don’t matter.

While I was able to fiddle around with the app on the night of launch, I took the majority of my the past two days to really stretch Pokemon GO’s legs. The following write up is only after a few hours of gameplay, mainly because the servers are down about 95% time.

DISCLAIMER: Before we get going, I’m going to assume you already know what Pokemon GO is, and how it’s played so I can quickly get into the meat of the review.

So I’m sure the biggest question on your mind is if it’s actually good or not. I think  it’s pretty neat. And realistically, at the moment that’s really the highest praise I can give Pokemon GO. It’s extremely cool the first time you find a Pidgey in your backyard, or a Ghastly on the way to class. Sadly, this feature only seems to exist so you can show your friends; because it creates more problems than it’s worth, in my opinion. Two big problems in particular.

One, in order to catch a Pokemon you have to stop moving and point your camera towards it. This can be an extremely awkward/difficult thing to do if you happen to run into a Pokemon on a busy street. Which for most city dwellers, this will more than often be the case. Two, if you are able to stop for one of these Pokemon, but there happen to be people around, it really does look like you’re filming them. I can assure you, most people won’t be okay with that.

P.S. - Both of these problems can be fixed by turning off AR.

What I’ve found to be the coolest aspect of Pokemon GO’s mechanics is the way that the Pokestops and Gyms encourage you to get out and explore the area around you. Seeing a Pokestop that’s nearby can send you to an area of the city you’ve never been to before. It’s always really cool when you find a nice piece of art or restaurant you’ve never heard of because they were Pokestops. But be careful, chaining these Pokestop visits together can turn your five minute walk into an hour and half long trek across the city. At the moment, gyms work sort of the same way, except you’re not really given an incentive to visit them. Capturing a gym doesn’t really provide much other than bragging rights because the number of gyms your team controls isn’t currently available.

Capturing gyms also reveals one of Pokemon GO’s most glaring of issues: the combat. Pokemon is a series that’s known not only for it’s addicting collection, but also for it’s initially shallow, yet surprisingly deep combat. Combat in Pokemon GO doesn’t amount to much more than tapping your screen as fast as you can, and hoping you win the battle. The only factor I’ve been able to determine that gives you the upper hand in battle, aside from Combat Power, is type advantage. That’s about the only similarity Pokemon GO’s combat has in common with its mainline counterparts.

Now that I’ve covered most of the game’s mechanics, I’d like to talk about the most endearing part of Pokemon GO’s design. It has this weird unifying quality. Walking around the city these past two days, I’ve seen people from all walks of life playing the game. From businessmen, to college students, to children; Pokemon GO has thoroughly taken over. And, light of recent events in this country, it’s neat to see people bonding over something. I saw people in the park shooting knowing glances to those passing by on the sidewalk. Children running to catch that Pokemon they’ve been looking all day. Almost everyone I saw downtown on the day of release was walking down the sidewalk, with their eyes glancing around, trying to pick out the next Pokestop or person stealing their spot in the Gym.

It was something I’d never really seen a game do before. It brought people together.

After having Pokemon GO for a couple of days, and really getting it out into the city, I can say that the game is a pretty neat distraction; but at the moment, it’s not much more than that. It lacks real-time battles with other players (a staple of the Pokemon franchise), trading (arguably more important than battles), and the RPG mechanics that kept the gameplay interesting. If you want a real-life Pokemon simulator, this isn’t the place you should look. But, if you really do want to catch ‘em all, or at least have something fun to do while walking around the city then I’d definitely recommend it.

And, does the game have any lasting appeal? Or will it peter out like Nintendo’s own Miitomo? Obviously, only time will tell but I’d imagine it as, at the very least, it’ll last a bit longer than that did. Once the servers start working on a regular basis, I can see my friends and I really getting some mileage of Pokemon GO.

[bradjweber]

What Nintendo Means To Me, And What It Feels Like To Be a Fan In 2016

    I’m four years old. My family and I live in a manufactured home on the outskirts of town while my parents work dead end jobs in two different restaurants. My mom is a waitress, and my dad is a line cook. One night, I burn my hand on a clothes iron that was left out in the kitchen where we kept the ironing board. I’m not taken to the hospital; the burn wasn’t that bad, and we probably couldn’t have afforded it anyways. I sit with my father, my hand wrapped in a cold washcloth while he plays Super Mario 64. In my mind I can barely make out the neon colors flooding into the room, or the glow of the late-90’s CRT television bringing the dark room to life. My father, jostling on the floor as he throws his whole body into every jump, bringing his only son, who is resting on his back, along with him. This is my earliest memory.

     I’m six years old. My family no longer lives on the outskirts of town. My father got a promotion at the restaurant. With that promotion comes a new house, a new town, and as woefully ignorant as it sounds, with that promotion comes the Nintendo Gamecube. Originally a Father’s Day present, it quickly becomes mine. I’m afraid of the ghosts in Luigi’s Mansion, and I’m amazed by the island paradise of Super Mario Sunshine. This is also where I discover my love of art. Drawing and writing my own stories about Mario, Luigi, and the rest of Nintendo’s lexicon of characters. This is where I find out what I’m good at.

     I’m seven years old. The Gameboy Advance and Pokemon Leaf Green is where I fall in love with RPGs; as well as bond with my older brothers for the first time not as “the younger one,” but as an equal. I’m eight, the Nintendo DS I get at my birthday party is, unbeknownst to me at the time, one of the most important gifts I’ll ever receive. It’s the first time I play Animal Crossing. I’m ten years old, Pokemon Diamond and the Nintendo Wii dominate my daily thoughts in Ms. Hamilton’s fifth grade classroom. I’m twelve years old. I join an online community where I’ll end up meeting some of my closest friends. Some I’ll later even travel to the other side of the country to finally meet. I’m fourteen, the 3DS. I’m fifteen, the Wii U. I’m seventeen, it’s my senior year of high school. Monster Hunter, Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 bring together an unlikely group of people from all levels of the schoolyard social hierarchy. I’m almost nineteen now. I live alone in a city where almost nobody knows my name, I don’t talk to my father as often as I’d like to, and Nintendo’s in a bit a trouble.

     Most of my growing up was somehow tangentially related to Nintendo in one way or another. Some of my earliest memories of my father come from Nintendo. It created a wonderful childhood, and helped set me down the path that I’m on today. That’s what Nintendo means to me.

     I’m not here to talk about the good old days, or make hyperbolic statements about the abysmal performance of the Wii U. I’m here to talk straight facts. Nintendo fans are dwindling, the idea of a casual Nintendo fan is falling away, and the only people who are left to deal with the hand that Nintendo has consistently dealt are being mislead about what their expectations for a Nintendo game or console should be.

     Nintendo recently announced the only game being shown at this year’s E3 is a recently delayed Zelda game. A title that was not only promised for the Wii U, but is now being pushed onto their next, still wildly mysterious and equally confusing system: the NX. This, to me is the culmination of all of Nintendo’s half baked ideas, unnecessary “innovations,” tone deaf responses to it’s community, and all around ignorance to the market/industry in which they currently operate that we’ve seen over the past decade. Broken or needlessly convoluted online infrastructures, compounded with woefully underpowered hardware created an island that Nintendo, along with it’s colorful and creative cast of characters, has been stranded on for all that time.

     Being one of the stalwart few that hold out, and wish to see Nintendo return to their glory days has been tough because of these reasons. I feel like a father who's not mad, just disappointed. It’s put me into a state of mind these past couple of years where I’m not surprised when I hear about a Nintendo game selling short, or about how the Wii U has sold almost as badly as Sony’s similarly and almost as tragically mishandled Playstation Vita. If you would have asked a younger me if I could even fathom, let alone entertain the idea that Nintendo would one day be developing games made specifically for cellphones, and maybe even for another company, I would have called you a liar. Nowadays, I think it might be the right direction for Nintendo, and would see it as a welcome change.

     Nintendo is taking 2016 off so that they can reevaluate the situation, rally the troops, and when the time is right hopefully wow us all again. And even if the majority of the industry stays away, I’ll be there day one. Because, with enough work, and enough time, I hope that Nintendo can stop trying be something they’re not, and rather than leave their luck to heaven, get back to being that magical toy company that we’ve all built them up to be in our imaginations. Because, as harsh as I am on Nintendo and their nonsensical business decisions, I hope that someday in the far future, I might be able to ask my kids what Nintendo means to them.

[bradjweber]

One Week Out - Miitomo

     “Have you made any big mistakes recently? If so, what happened?”

   When Nintendo announced that it would release six smartphone games by the end of March 2017, Nintendo fans, industry analysts, and any other curious bystander waited with bated breath for the reveal of the first of these six titles.

   Well, it’s here. And, it’s not exactly a game either. It’s a social network. Sort of. It’s hard to put a label on it. But, I do know one thing... it’s addicting. I mean, it’s surprisingly great! Please, give me some of your time so that I can explain to you why you should be using it, and why you’re really missing out if you don’t give it a chance.

   From the outside looking in, Miitomo seems like a kid-friendly social network that can only get away with calling itself a game because it features coins you can earn, and the ability to earn achievements which net you some Nintendo Fun Bucks. But, Miitomo does something interesting with the now-common concept of a social network. It makes interacting with your friends on the service fun, and actually turns the simple act of commenting and updating statues into a very fulfilling and addicting experience.

    So, what’s the moment to moment gameplay? Well, it isn’t really gameplay so to speak, but it is a fun game-ification of what some would consider to be simple social networking tasks. The bulk of the game consists of answering questions that the game asks you. These answers are shared with your friends, who can then comment/like your answers. This goes the other way as well, because when you’re not answering questions, you’re listening to what your friends have to say! Answering questions, commenting on other answers, and liking other people’s posts earns you coins. These coins are Miitomo’s main currency, and are mainly spent on clothing for your mii.

    That’s where the intention of Miitomo becomes very clear. Miitomo is not a spectator sport. This is a social network that isn’t about passively checking on your friends; it’s about directly interacting with them, and about actually getting to know them. There isn’t a newsfeed or a wall that you can quickly check in order to see what your friends have been up to. The only feed available features just the answers you’ve already heard or submitted. The only way to see answers that you haven’t listened to is by way of spending one of the other in-game currencies, candy. Candy is earned by playing the only real game inside of the app: a minigame called “Miitomo Drop.”

    Miitomo Drop is basically a virtual pachinko machine, which allows users to spend earnable game tickets, or the their coins on the chance to win clothes and accessories for their mii. These drops are only available for short amount of time, enticing you to keep coming back and trying to earn some of these rarer clothing options.

    My biggest complaint with Miitomo comes from the system of making friends, which is provided by it’s inherently Japanese focus. The only ways to make friends are to be following each other on Twitter, be friends on Facebook, by sharing a few mutual friends, or by meeting face-to-face. The majority of my 40+ friends on Miitomo are exclusively from the Internet; and not all of them have Twitter/Facebook (or we weren’t necessarily connected on those services), and most of them live far enough away where meeting face-to-face would cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Now if I actually knew anyone who was on Miitomo, let alone somebody who wanted to even check it out in the first place, these wouldn’t really be problems. But, I don’t. So, adding friends is initially a confusing and complicated process, especially in a country where random acts of socialization and mobile gaming don’t occur as commonly as they do in Japan.

    Nintendo’s first attempt at creating something that would only really work on a smartphone was in my opinion, a huge success! I spend hours on Miitomo every day learning stupid trivia about my friends in a fun/engaging way. I’m also one of the few who’ll probably admit to have already spent a couple of bucks on clothes/chances at earning something cool in the Miitomo Drop.

   I really really like Miitomo. But now I think it’s time we see what Nintendo and partner DeNA can do on smartphones, as far as “real games” are concerned.