When Duke Nukem Forever was first announced all those years ago (I believe we’ve reached a decade since it’s announcement), I think everyone had high hopes for the game. Year after year new screenshots were released, and excitement was palpable.

However, by 2003, after a graphics engine update, 3D Realms removed any screenshots on thier site, stating that “the screenshots and videos that were there have been removed as they no longer represent the game’s current look and feel.” The frontier has been fairly quiet since then, except for the fanboys and nay-sayers bickering here and there.

Finally, a teaser trailer has been released showcasing the current graphical elements of the game, as well as showing fans that the original voice actor, Jon St. John is still on board.

Just like Fallout 3, Everything is being “3d-ized” and I just feel that it’s losing some of the appeal it once had. Maybe 3D Realms should have just pulled the plug years ago, and not bothered. I’d rather be left with my memories of the originals, than feel let down by the latest release.

Well, at least there is a trailer to enjoy now, let the speculation begin! Enjoy the trailer over at shacknews.com

Ladykildare has a shop over at Etsy.com where she sells her handcrafted World of/Warcraft related items. I must admit, I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to Warcraft stuff, and especially so, when it’s novel little things such as the Hearthstone Mobile Phone Charm.

If you don’t know what a phone charm is, I’ll give a little rundown of them. Basically, on most modern phones (and some older ones) there is a little handle or hole (typically on a corner) that I believe was originally intended for threading a wrist strap through like they have on the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS/Lite. Some rather shrewd individual thought, rather correctly, that there would be a profit to be made selling little trinkets to hang from these “strap holes”. These phone fashion accessories, have really taken off, with many different brands looking to make some money from the fickleness of the techno generation, most notably in Japan where these “Phone Charms” originated.

I’ve seen some crazy things people want to have hanging from their phones, including Lucky Golden Turds, but there are also less shocking things such as Hello Kitty, ILoveEgg and Pokémon. The sheer variety is staggering!

I also, have to confess, I have my fair share of these phone charms. Yes I know, not very macho, but I got most of them from those £1 Gashapon machine, and I tend to like gimmicky things. So to find a Warcraft themed charm, is a blessing (more macho, still geeky).

The site is American, but ship’s worldwide, so to the UK it would be $7.50 for the charm itself plus $4.00 S&H, so $11.50 or (at the time of writing) approx £5.60. Pretty darn cheap if you ask me, granted it IS rather small, and not official, but still definitely a good buy and a superb late/Christmas gift for any Warcraft fan, who wouldn’t want their own personal Hearthstone.

Of course, don’t forget to check out the rest of Ladykildare’s shop for other Warcraft trinkets and gifts.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated my blog, Sorry. I’ve been extremely busy lately, sorting a lot out, drawing and designing. My site also went down for a while due to some hosting gremlins that have now been solved.

So I return to you all with my latest digital piece. This is going to be a rather brief post, I’ll let the pic speak for itself.

Remember to click on the image to see the full thing (Also don’t be put off by the rather lame little thumbnail, the larger image is a LOT better)

Well, looks like Bethesda have gone and made Fallout 3 a first person game. Seems all that talk of keeping it true to the originals was a load of hot air and flaming BS. The few screenshots that have been released, all show first person views, and it has been anounced that it IS first person, with the option to change to a 3rd person, over the shoulder kind of thing.

Curse you Bethesda, WHY did you do this!

*sigh*

Damn, Lord knows how I missed this. I understand that so many people have known about this for a long while, but I only found out recently. I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for any and all Fallout 3 news for so long, and after Bethesda got the rights, I kinda started to lose hope.

Now we have a website with a countdown to a teaser of some sort (at the time of writing this there are 2 days to go). It probably wont give away much about the actual gameplay, which is what I and a LOT of the fans are concearned about, but it is still, at least, proof that the game IS coming out, and that’s something, right?

The artwork on there, and the music is damn impressive, so I’m VERY happy about that. The music was always something I loved about FO1 and FO2.

Here’s hoping it is as good, if not better than the originals.

Check out the official website here.

My parents used to own and work in a nursing home. From the day I was born, I was in constant contact with the elderly and the disabled, people who were not long for this world and would soon be leaving us.

You may think that this would have been a depressing environment for a small child to grow up in, but I found it to be quite the opposite, It always made me thankful for life and everything that I have, and it taught me a VERY valuable lesson that I have carried with me all my life, the lesson that people who are old, or disabled should not be mocked, nor do i feel they should be pitied, they should be seen and treated as equals, because after all, they are. We are all only humans, nothing more, nothing less.

This is why I very often feel guilty when I see someone who is disabled do something that would be considered to be amazing for them. As an example, someone who has limited motor functions, being able to type. Why should I think that is amazing, and feel that sting of pity for them that they cant do much else? THAT is why I feel guilty.

Ghostwise on YouTube is a prime example of what I am talking about, he has a disablity, but he can still do so much that I find amazing, and I feel guilty for seeing him as different in the first place. I think this is where the problem lies, maybe i shouldnt feel guilty for seeing him as different, we are all different. It’s that stupid innar conflict where I fight the way my morals tell me I SHOULD feel, and the way I actually DO feel. Stupid I know, but I guess it is because of my early life that I feel like this.

Either way, I want to share this video with you in particular, not simply because he is disabled and is standing up, but because he has a message with it, the reasons behind WHY he is doing it, supporting the planet, the way it has supported us all, and being thankful and respectful of the environment and the world we live in.

I’m not one of these activists or global warming nuts, but I do think that we need to take better care of our planet and ourselves, and enjoy the beauty of nature. So I hope you enjoy this video, and it inspires you to even just walk that little bit more, not only because you are thankful for the use of your legs and aren’t disabled, but also because you are thankful that we live in a world where there is beauty outside to see and enjoy, sounds to hear, air to breath, and a life to live, no matter what ailements you suffer from.

Video game remix albums, or arrangements as they seem to be known by some (most?), are one of my prime sources of aural enjoyment these days. They bring back the memories of my youth, and at the sime time wow me with the fantastic edges they have been given. I love that feeling of “Oh wow!” when you recognise a song that’s been done in a totally new way.

Recently, I found a supurb resource for downloading remixed versions of “classic” video game songs, all free of charge of course. and on this holy grail of websites, I found 4 full albums that for me stood out. Project Chaos, which is a Sonic the Hedgehog & Knuckles arrangement album, Hedgehog Heaven, which is all about Sonic 2, The Dark Side Of Phobos, a Doom remix album, and Blood on the Asphalt, a Street Fighter 2 remix album.

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Ahh my sweet innocent little DSlite, the Nintendo console that has brought me so much joy as of late, Now don’t get me wrong, I love my Wii too, but this baby can go anywhere, she’s a real loose console, and that’s why I love her.

Okay, maybe it’s getting a bit extreme, but I honestly do think that the DSlite is a gorgeous piece of kit, robust, friendly, and most of all, touchable!

So in honour of this little machine, I whipped up a bit of fresh Pixel Art goodness for you all to take a gander at. It may not be flashy and big, but then the DS isn’t either.

Enjoy and feel the love.

As I said earlier, I have put my cute little WDOOS button on the site (See the upper right hand corner above the “Latest Images”). I also made a point of doing some minor modification to the design of the site, Nothing major layout wise, mostly graphical but I’ve also made a few tweaks here and there.

After going back through my code, I’ve noticed i’ve made quite a few buggy errors here and there, and its hardly W3C compliant at the moment. Over time, I will be working to make it better, with stricter code and less bugs.

The site is definately coming along though, it’s been a while since I’ve felt up to touching it again after so much html and css that goes on at work. I’m glad I’ve made the effort though.

More to come soon, I’m sure.

Just a quick little update to say that I have made a little WDOOS (We Do Our Own Stunts) banner thingy that will have a proud place on my site soon, I’ll upload it tonight. So just hang tight.


If you haven’t been to WDOOS you’d better go there now, It’s the most friendly forum I’ve ever joined, and there are a LOT of talented designers/coders/and fools on there, check it out.