Archive for May, 2008
Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
An MMO for a more "mature" audience, at least that’s the mantra Funcom utters about their recently launched "Age of Conan". What exactly makes this a "mature" game? The "M for Mature" ESRB rating, the fabulously gory fatalities, or is it the promise of in game nudity? After spending much of my free time this past weekend playing through "Age of Conan," I’m still not sure what exactly makes this game so much more mature than your other MMOs other than the potential for topless women and the occasional vulgar language and brutal fatality.
Upon initial impression "Age of Conan" is a beautiful looking MMO, no doubt about it! The promise of future support of DX10 effects via a "soon to be released" patch will only benefit an already gorgeous MMO. In an era where most MMO worlds look ages behind our current gen graphics, "Age of Conan" is an MMO graphical jewel.
The character creation screen is pretty robust for an MMO allowing you to make various small and large tweaks to your appearance, including several tattoos and scars. Of the several cultures to choose from, each has its own interpretation of the various basic fantasy RPG classes. I created a male Tempest of Set, which is the "spellcaster/healer/priest" class of the Stygian culture.
Every newly created character arrives in the city/state of Tortage after a devastating storm wipes out the slave ship you were serving on. It is here where you will learn to play the game and your class properly for the next 20 levels, give or take. Tortage is your typical "n00b" zone with your basic fetch quests, kill x number of this, and solve that mystery.
What really sets Tortage apart from other MMO starter cities is the well done voice over work for all your quest giving NPCs. Reading blocks of text explaining why sorcerer Y needs X number of frog tongues is not really my idea of "immersion." I demand voice overs for all MMO quest NPCs from this point forward!
Another very unique feature of Tortage is the ability to carry out story specific quests in your own private instance of the world (aka single player mode). The entire single player mode in Tortage takes place at night, while the multiplayer mode takes place during the day. This MMO single player mode for important story quests ensures that you will experience the story on your own without any griefers, or long periods of waiting for the quest item/enemy to respawn. This is an ideal way for my "lone wolf" styled play habits of most MMOs I play, while still maintaining the option to "group" and take on more "epic" challenges. Who really needs to group up to run fetch quests anyway?
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No commentsHwarang Taekwondo Academy’s 15th Anniversary
This past Saturday, May 17th, marked the 15th year anniversary of the Hwarang Taekwondo Academy in my hometown. For 15 years, Grand Master Jimmy Park has been teaching the kids of Del Rio & Eagle Pass the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, along with the discipline and self-confidence that comes with it.
I had the privilege to attend the academy early on during high school and loved every minute of it! However, the life of a high school student is already busy enough, so I regrettably took an extended break from Taekwondo.
More than four years later, I returned older and wiser than before. Over the last year, I’ve risen from a simple orange belt up to a purple belt! In the larger scope of things, a purple belt might not seem very high, but its actually the sum of my hard work for a year. Hours of practice, hordes of welts & bruises, and tons of form repetitions.
I’ve grown to known the majority of the students in my class, and I hope that they get something out of their continued training. Parties and demonstrations like this past weekend are a great way for the kids to see the higher belts perform some of the harder techniques, and for them to see if its something they’d want to keep learning in the future. Of course, giving the students a chance to shine is also a great way to build up their self confidence and help them become less introverted.
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1 commentDragon Laptop Helps Save earth!
I stumbled across a technology blog that was giving away a pretty great laptop a week or so ago. The author asked everyone interested to submit a short, concise, story describing how that laptop would improve their productivity and lives. No where did he state it had to be true…below is my short story entry.
Ever since before I can remember, I’ve been preparing myself for the inevitable invasion of earth by some strange Sci-Fi creatures. Traumatized by years of media featuring creatures of all shapes, sizes, and origins has left me scarred for life.
Inventorying the weapons and weekly target practice is just a normal part of my weekly schedule, along with Martial Arts training three times a week! Plenty of food and water stored in a basement, and a four wheel drive truck/mobile command centre capable of crossing rivers, I’m ready! Or so I thought…having seen this wonderful piece of technology, I have discovered the potential benefits of its use in my preparations, and wish to procure one to integrate into my mobile command centre immediately.
No hero can fight off an alien invasion or underground monsters without knowing his enemy. My strategies and analysis of these potential invaders have come from careful study of their anatomy and weapons via VHS & DVD. However, with the aid of a high definition format, like Blue Ray, I will be capable of obtaining a much clearer and precise view of the invaders to aid my studies and refine my attack strategies. Taking out an evil ghostly pirate ship may be common knowledge in the ‘old days’, but these days one must be properly prepared using modern means.
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Kenpo, Orange Belt! Taekwondo, Purple Belt?
Having been training in Chinese Kenpo with my teacher for just a little under a year now, he finally felt it was time to test a select few students for their orange belt. Of the 15 students in class, only five were selected to take the test.
We were tested on a long list of techniques and maneuvers which most of us recalled and performed with accuracy. Sure, most of us erred a few times, but we performed effectively enough to earn a passing grade.
As a reward, the new orange belts were invited to a cook out at the instructor’s house, this past Sunday, as a chance for us all to get to know one another in a more relaxed setting, no martial arts involved.
Most martial arts styles and schools have a ranking system which normally consists of colored belts or sashes. These ranks are normally earned by students after much hard work and dedication, with the ultimate goal in most organizations being some level of black belt.
Ranks are bestowed upon students after the student has proven himself capable of performing at a particular level. Sometimes belts can also be earned by seniority, since a student who has been learning from a master for years, is better versed in the master’s philosophy and style than one who just began.
With martial arts schools operating all over the world, some school’s ranking systems have been heavily monetized. Some schools operate with the sole intent of taking their students money and giving them very little knowledge of actual self defense. I’ve heard of these kinds of schools referred to as “McDojos”, where one can walk in throw down some cash and walk out with a black belt.
Some martial arts instructors go to great lengths to become “masters” by setting up their own school/style and having other “pseudo-masters” acknowledge the new school/style as legit by giving that “pseudo-master” an additional “master” title in the newly established martial arts style. A community of pseudo martial arts masters is created which can leech off of each other for credibility, while milking their students’ money.
These pseudo-masters are ultimately hurting their students, and setting them up for extreme failure should they face an actual self-defense situation. Martial arts instills a sense of confidence and humility into a person, but should the situation arise where you must defend yourself armed with pseudo-martial arts, you are surely guaranteed to hurt yourself by using improper techniques, or getting beaten by your opponent.
The Taekwondo school I attend charges a monthly fee, and an additional belt test fee every time you are ready for a belt promotion test. The first few belt ranks in this school are actually pretty easy to obtain, but after the first three, the master decides when/if you are ready to take the next belt exam. This adds a degree of reliability to the ranking system in my school, but nothing is full proof. I myself only request permission to test, from my master, when I am 100% sure I know everything that is required for the next belt. I hate being the guy who looks at/copies others in a weak attempt to cover up my inadequate knowledge and form, I want to be the one everyone attempts to copy off of! This coming Tuesday, I will hopefully be partaking in a test to earn my Purple belt in Taekwondo!
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