You can expect to find anything in the realm of Inspiration, Projects I have/am working on, Entertainment that I enjoy and want to spread to the world,and just general chatter of my life happenings.
Please enjoy and don't forget to leave your own commentary. =D
Day 2 of filming for the music video 2-Far was a success. At first we didn't know if we would even have an actress that would follow through for the video, but thankfully everything followed through. All the scenes were filmed in and around a bar that a friend of mine owns. It was a very good looking venue for the shoot, and I am very excited to show off these scenes of the video once the full project is complete.
Stay tuned for more behind the scenes information, and make sure to check out my Facebook page for more behind the scenes photos!
I am currently in the process of filming a music video for the Chicago DJ artist Kid Heartbreak. We wrapped up our first shoot on Wed night and have two more shoots coming up in May. Each Monday till the video is finished with filming I will post exclusive content to my blog.
Check out some stills from the video as well as some behind the scenes photos.
Find more behind the scenes photos at my Facebook page:
From the outside ZombiU could look like just another shooter trying to cash in on the zombie craze. It is when you pick up the controller that you begin to realize that ZombiU is actually doing some new and fresh things to help it stand out from the horde.
ZombiU's single player is less about story and more about survival. The player must stay alive as long as possible through the zombie attack, and once the player is taken down, they will respond as a brand new character. The fun of this comes in the fact that as the new character you can reach the point that you're previous character was at to find out that they are not a zombie. I personally thought this was a great idea to keep the player retrying after every death.
My personal hands on time was with one of the multiplayer modes. The mode I got to try out pitted one player verse the other in a game of capture the flag. Instead of two players fighting against each other on the same screen though, one player (me) was given the pro controller and played on the big screen, while the other player (some random dude) used the WiiU tablet controller.
My goal was pretty simple...stay alive and capture as many flags as possible. I was satisfied with the controls of the game, only problem I ran into is how similar the pro controller is to the Xbox 360 controller, yet the right buttons A,B,X,Y was flipped with the right thumb stick. After some hours of play through I can't see this being much of an issue anymore. So how about the other guy? What was he up to at this time?
Well while I was running around scared out of my mind, the other player was setting up attacks on me with multiple zombies. The gamepad worked similar to an RTS style game, where the user would map out where they want zombies to be at, how to attack, etc... The gamepad player was also trying to capture flags as well, just using this unique style of gameplay.
Things just got serious.
As far as graphics and sound, both were at high quality. The game looked great, and the sound tried to capture great submersion. The audio is something Ubisoft is really trying to make right, and you can tell this since one of the ZombiU stations could be played with some really nice headphones.
At the end of the day ZombiU will come down to how much content it has in the final game. The core elements of the game seem unique enough to catch a gamer's attention, but without enough content it could fall flat.
We will be finding out how well the final product does soon enough.
First off if you didn't get the change to check out Rayman Origins that came out last holiday season, go do that right now! I guarantee you will find it for extremely cheap!
Rayman Legends was more of the same with new levels, new characters, new concepts, and better graphics.
RL was one of the games that I was not able to get any hands on footage of, but I did get some hands on time with it. I took control of Rayman with the new pro controler, while someone else controled a little helper named Murfy. This seemed to work very similar toNew Super Mario Bros U, where I would try to run through the stage as fast as I could, and they attempeted to assist me in doing this. In RL this concepted seemed much more important...many times I was not able to make it through a particular section, because the guy with the gamepad did not react soon enough to help me.
If you did not get a chance to check out the first trailer for RL, there were some cool WiiU exclusive features shown off. It looks like the WiiU version will take use of the WiiU gamepad in a crazy way. Check out the video below for more on this.
Rayman Legends felt more like what I would want from a new version of New Super Mario Bros. Great graphics, great gameplay, great coop, and great new additions. Keep an eye out on this beauty releasing later this year. -Travis
This is still the Pikmin you played many years ago, in fact if you played either of the new play control versions of Pikmin, then this should feel very familiar to you.
Pikmin 3 does take advantage of the WiiU game pad, but maybe not as much as you would expect. During the demo I could move around the map and scope out my surroundings with the touch screen. As far as controlling my character I was using a Wiimote and nunchuk combo.
The demo featured two different game modes; a boss battle and a fruit collecting challenge. I was able to get hands on time with the collecting mode, and watched a guy take on the giant boss. I also got some gameplay footage of this boss battle you can check out below. Pikmin 3 feels extremely similar to the past games...I am actually a bit surprised how little of a change the game series went through. Keep in mind this is only a demo though, and many other surprised could await us at launch.
You may notice that the character being played is not series veterans Olimar or Louie, but instead a nameless character that looks very similar. My guess is the story will develop to later on show these characters from the past. This nameless character controls just like Olimar from past games, and with the ability to use the Wiimote to point and click, managing your Pikmin is as easy as ever before.
The demo featured two types of Pikmin, the original red guys and a new breed of rock Pikmin. These guys seemed to operate similar to the purple Pikmin introduced in Pikmin 2. With their added rock like weight they can smash through things with much ease.
As far as graphics are concerned Pikmin 3 does not disappoint. The HD really helps with managing all the chaos taking place on screen. Also the "macro" look with all the extra depth of field is a very nice touch.
Pikmin 3 is scheduled to release somewhere in the launch window, and from the little bit of hands on time I got I can say it could very well be a worthwhile purchase as your first WiiU game investment.
New Super Mario Bros U was one of the games I got to play but was not able to get gameplay footage of.
The fun things about NSMBU is the fact that a small speed run tournament was hosted at the WiiU experience....and well...My partner and I took home first place! =)
Now when I say I played with a teammate you are probably thinking one of us was Mario and the other was Luigi or some generic Toad...not exactly....
That's right folks. We BEAT Mario and Luigi.
During the tournament I took control of Mario with the classic sideways Wii-mote controller scheme. Mario controlled the same as always...I did not notice any differences in controls. While I was sprinting through the course as fast as possible my teammate assistance me in my run with the WiiU game pad. He could add stepping blocks, stun enemies, and help me gather useful items. In one scenery I was running through the stage without enough time to jump on a Koopa shell... luckily my partner came to the last minute rescue by tapping the Koopa as it appears real time on his game pad. Doing this popped the Koopa shell into Mario's hands allowing me to take out some Goombas off in the distance.
The demo at the WiiU Experience featured 3 playable levels. For a Super Mario veteran like myself I found these stages very simple, but fun non the less. The stages looked very colorful and vibrant in its widescreen HD showing.
The full game can also be played on the gamepad at any time without the need of the television which is another great addition. Want to check the weather or how a sports team is doing? Just switch to the gamepad mode and keep playing while you check up on your favorite team.
New Super Mario Bros U is nothing groundbreaking, but it is more of the same fun you would come to expect from the New series. New levels, new power-ups, new graphics, and new features, and the ability to bring your Mii into the platforming action.
For this week's Motivating Monday, I took a look through some of my all time favorite photos I have stumbled on to while viewing Flickr.com
The photograph I chose for today is labeled "Old Forgotten Piano"
This photo was uploaded a few years back by the user DPINKSTON.
I Just LOVE everything about this photo.
The elements that really stick out to me is the lighting and the texture of the old piano.
The rusty textures that are illuminated from what appears to be an off in the distance light source really develops the atmosphere of the shot.
And don't stop at this photo...the user has some other great photos worth checking out.
Now that you have some motivation in you....get out there and snap some awesome photos!
For this post I have just one recommendation to any readers that work from home. If working on a laptop is an option I strongly recommend doing some work at a very chill coffee shop, or venue very similar.
As I am typing this I am chillin' at this nice coffee shop located downtown named RedEye.
I know for myself, when I get discouraged or distracted taking my work to a new location will help me stay focused and crank out a few hours of work.
So even if you dislike coffee, like myself, I strongly suggested taking a work day outside of your norm.
-Travis
