Thursday, October 20, 2016
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Saturday, September 26, 2015
A little random fun...
Tangentially related to this blog... on a whim, I made the following comic today in response to having trouble "keeping up" with all the stuff people get up to on the internet these days.
Drew on paper, scanned, then converted to ascii for a little extra "computer theme flare"
Drew on paper, scanned, then converted to ascii for a little extra "computer theme flare"
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Game Gear LED mod: Part III
So I finally got around to trying out what I hoped would be the ideal solution for replacing the CFL with LEDs in my Game Gear: using an opaque white straw as a diffuser tube for the two side-mounted LEDs.
Unfortunately,
The outcome was unsatisfactory.
If you recall, I had previously tried a frosted "clear" straw, with very small (if any) improvement over the exposed side-mounted LEDs. I had hoped that an opaque white straw would make the lighting more even across the screen and, by filtering the light through the white plastic, might also mimic the white CFL coloring more.
My theory actually did bear out, to some degree. The "hot spots" on the side of the screen near the bulbs were much diffused, and the coloring on the screen seemed more closely matched to that of a "stock" Game Gear. But the screen was dim. I found I was caught between a rock and a hard place, where either I could have a) the color and lighting to be somewhat natural, but the screen would be really dim and you'd have to hold the system at a 45 degree angle, or b) the screen would be *almost* bright enough (it never quite reached the appealing luminance of my good condition original system) but would be utterly washed out.
I didn't even bother taking pictures - it just wasn't worth it. My conclusion is that the LEDs couldn't come anywhere near reproducing the CFL lighting when filtered through an opaque white straw.
Someone suggested carefully using the original glass of the CFL bulb as the diffuser tube in the comments on one of my earlier posts. That would be super interesting to try, and may be the best bet in the end. But for the time being I would say the best implementation with two side-mounted white LEDs is with a frosted clear straw as a diffuser (per THIS POST)
Happy gaming!
Unfortunately,
The outcome was unsatisfactory.
If you recall, I had previously tried a frosted "clear" straw, with very small (if any) improvement over the exposed side-mounted LEDs. I had hoped that an opaque white straw would make the lighting more even across the screen and, by filtering the light through the white plastic, might also mimic the white CFL coloring more.
My theory actually did bear out, to some degree. The "hot spots" on the side of the screen near the bulbs were much diffused, and the coloring on the screen seemed more closely matched to that of a "stock" Game Gear. But the screen was dim. I found I was caught between a rock and a hard place, where either I could have a) the color and lighting to be somewhat natural, but the screen would be really dim and you'd have to hold the system at a 45 degree angle, or b) the screen would be *almost* bright enough (it never quite reached the appealing luminance of my good condition original system) but would be utterly washed out.
I didn't even bother taking pictures - it just wasn't worth it. My conclusion is that the LEDs couldn't come anywhere near reproducing the CFL lighting when filtered through an opaque white straw.
Someone suggested carefully using the original glass of the CFL bulb as the diffuser tube in the comments on one of my earlier posts. That would be super interesting to try, and may be the best bet in the end. But for the time being I would say the best implementation with two side-mounted white LEDs is with a frosted clear straw as a diffuser (per THIS POST)
Happy gaming!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Game Gear LED mod: Part II - straw man
If interested in upgrading your Game Gear to use battery-friendly LED in place of the hungry CFL, please see MY EARLIER POST on this topic.
The one major shortcoming I ran into was an overall dim-ish screen (despite the LEDs being very bright) and hot-spots at each edge where the LEDs sat. As a first pass to rectify the problem, I decided to insert a frosty-clear straw between the two LEDs - effectively replicating the shape/position of the original CFL bulb. The idea was that the straw would serve as a light diffuser, resulting in a more even backlighting of the screen (and allowing me to turn the brightness up more without washing the image out).
The results, however, were almost imperceptible. I am confident that it must TECHNICALLY function as a light diffuser. But clearly the straw I used, at least, was poorly suited and the effect was negligible.
Here's what I did, followed by some "before and after" shots.
1) I snatched a frosty clear straw from a food court. I needs roughly the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the LEDs used.
2) I opened the Game Gear back up, and removed the reflective back plate with LEDs still attached
3) Measure the distance between ~halfway along each LED, and cut the straw to length. This length ensures you are able to a) flex the straw enough to pop it into place (without introducing kinks in the plastic) while b) ensuring it fits snugly enough to stay in place
4) Reassemble the Game Gear
Easy!
But as mentioned above, the results were less than exciting. See the before and after shots below:
Note that it was tricky to get the lighting (room and backlight) the same for the two shots. But, the real take-home message is that the frosted clear straw basically had no perceivable effect.
Next up: I'm going to try to find an opaque white straw with a very glossy inside. This will probably require the light level to be turned up more, but hopefully will be a more effective diffuser...
The one major shortcoming I ran into was an overall dim-ish screen (despite the LEDs being very bright) and hot-spots at each edge where the LEDs sat. As a first pass to rectify the problem, I decided to insert a frosty-clear straw between the two LEDs - effectively replicating the shape/position of the original CFL bulb. The idea was that the straw would serve as a light diffuser, resulting in a more even backlighting of the screen (and allowing me to turn the brightness up more without washing the image out).
The results, however, were almost imperceptible. I am confident that it must TECHNICALLY function as a light diffuser. But clearly the straw I used, at least, was poorly suited and the effect was negligible.
Here's what I did, followed by some "before and after" shots.
1) I snatched a frosty clear straw from a food court. I needs roughly the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the LEDs used.
 |
| straw is smooth on the inside, textured/frosted on the outside - sounds perfect, right? |
3) Measure the distance between ~halfway along each LED, and cut the straw to length. This length ensures you are able to a) flex the straw enough to pop it into place (without introducing kinks in the plastic) while b) ensuring it fits snugly enough to stay in place
Easy!
But as mentioned above, the results were less than exciting. See the before and after shots below:
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
Next up: I'm going to try to find an opaque white straw with a very glossy inside. This will probably require the light level to be turned up more, but hopefully will be a more effective diffuser...
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Portal - A (very) late review of a still relevant game
Sometimes, life gets in the way. Sometimes it gets in the way of gaming bandwagons you would happily ride into the sunset.
Such is the case with the Portal franchise (Valve). The original Portal marked a fresh take on 1st-person puzzle solving and "platforming" - placing the player in what most screenshots imply is a FPS, but in reality is an immersive vehicle for creative spatial puzzle solving.
Why bother writing a review at this late stage (literally years after initial release)? Well, because I finally got around to playing it, and loved it. I know that the demands of my life are not unique, so if I just got around to playing Portal, I am sure there are others out there considering giving it a try for the first time as well. The graphics are simple and clean enough that they barely show age, and the gameplay is still pretty unique and enjoyable. If you don't know enough about Portal yet to buy it, read on...
Here's the quick and dirty overview of the game:
You are a young woman with cybernetic attachments going through, for whatever reason, a training/obstacle course at a testing facility. The facility is run by a terrifyingly comforting sounding computer ("I can't do that, Dave") that watches you at every step.
Every stage of the game involves creative use of the portal-creating device you have been given to... well... get out of the level. The gameplay mechanics are simple. Let's say that you come up against a really deep pit with toxic sludge at the bottom. You aren't Lara Croft and you don't have Boba Fett jetpacks, so how do you get across? In Portal, the solution might be to shoot a portal into the wall at the far side of the pit, and shoot one into the wall on your side of the pit. These portals are connected - creating a wormhole that allows you to step directly out on the other side of the pit.
In the example depicted here, if you walk into the blue portal you will step right back into the same room (out of the orange portal). Hm, now what if you placed that orange portal above a moving platform you wanted to drop down on...?
And that's it. That's the game. You can jump a small, pathetically human amount. You can crouch. And you can walk forward, backward, left, and right. But you have no guns, and no grappling hooks. It's a puzzle game. Sound boring? Well... go away. It's grand fun.
This game gets YOU hooked with the creative ways in which you need to use the portals to get around (see how I followed up on the "grappling hook" thing?). And it keeps you playing by appealing to a) your curiosity about what comes next, and b) feeling smart when you figured out an elegant way through a level.
The game starts you off easy, as in the pit example described above. But as the levels progress, more and more obstacles arise while the number of floors and walls that portals are able to stick to become fewer and farther between. And as dangerous moving features of the environment and hostile robots begin to appear, time constraints on your decision-making process tighten as well. Don't want to get crushed by the pistons closing in? Better think fast about where to shoot some portals and wriggle your way out of this one!
Combat does enter the game (via the aforementioned hostile robots), but the focus remains consistently on "the thrill of the puzzle". The game never enters Rambo territory (again, you never get a gun). Yes, the robots can be killed, but you do it WITH YOUR MIND (ok - with clever use of portals).
Given the age of the game, you've probably heard most of what can be said.
It is not without its flaws. For example, it's pretty short (although not in a way that you feel ripped off, especially since you can buy it for a song these days on Steam).
There are also only a couple of ways to use the portals effectively against enemies. Because of this, the "combat" form of puzzle solving doesn't really evolve as the game progresses to the extent that the level maneuvering does. But even though "combat" is easy once you figure out the couple of tricks needed clear the room, it is still pleasurable - always a "HA, I'm smarter than you, pathetic drones!" experience.
And that is what really captures the joy of the game for me - its simplicity.
You don't need to remember 10 hot-keys while keeping track of your health bar, magic level, ammo stock, squad members, etc etc etc (my brain gets tired just thinking about the effort!); this game only involves a couple of buttons, and for better or worse there are only a few ways to use the portals to navigate the levels and thwart the hostiles.
So when you win the game (and you will), it's not because you solved a puzzle of Riven-level proportions, having sat there with a pen and paper for hours while your now-ex-girlfriend walked unnoticed out the door shouting about what a complete nerd you are.
And it's not because you tore your way through hordes of enemies with your rocket launcher. Portal has an almost laid back creative bent. At times the platforming is reminiscent of the spatial imagery evoked by descriptions of the training space in Ender's Game. You need to keep your head on a swivel when entering a room and really THINK about the space - be it to devise a way to "slingshot" yourself tremendous distances, leapfrog through portals while airborn over pit of fire, or turn enemy attacks back against the nefarious automatons.
So... if you get horribly turned around just looking up at the sky for a moment in Skyrim, then this game is probably not for you. It takes the kind of 3D navigation skills you honed in low-grav space levels of Unreal Tournament back in 1999 and deploys them effectively in a puzzle-oriented setting, and pads the visuospatial puzzle fun with subtle-but-delightfully-quirky humor. And at the end of the day, if you're a good little gamer, you just might get some tea and cake (no death).
Summary:
Short, only so many ways to use your portals to get things done.
But it is light-hearted, at times exciting, and always rewarding.
A must buy, especially given the relatively minimal time commitment of the game and low price point.
Such is the case with the Portal franchise (Valve). The original Portal marked a fresh take on 1st-person puzzle solving and "platforming" - placing the player in what most screenshots imply is a FPS, but in reality is an immersive vehicle for creative spatial puzzle solving.
Why bother writing a review at this late stage (literally years after initial release)? Well, because I finally got around to playing it, and loved it. I know that the demands of my life are not unique, so if I just got around to playing Portal, I am sure there are others out there considering giving it a try for the first time as well. The graphics are simple and clean enough that they barely show age, and the gameplay is still pretty unique and enjoyable. If you don't know enough about Portal yet to buy it, read on...
Here's the quick and dirty overview of the game:
You are a young woman with cybernetic attachments going through, for whatever reason, a training/obstacle course at a testing facility. The facility is run by a terrifyingly comforting sounding computer ("I can't do that, Dave") that watches you at every step.
Every stage of the game involves creative use of the portal-creating device you have been given to... well... get out of the level. The gameplay mechanics are simple. Let's say that you come up against a really deep pit with toxic sludge at the bottom. You aren't Lara Croft and you don't have Boba Fett jetpacks, so how do you get across? In Portal, the solution might be to shoot a portal into the wall at the far side of the pit, and shoot one into the wall on your side of the pit. These portals are connected - creating a wormhole that allows you to step directly out on the other side of the pit.
And that's it. That's the game. You can jump a small, pathetically human amount. You can crouch. And you can walk forward, backward, left, and right. But you have no guns, and no grappling hooks. It's a puzzle game. Sound boring? Well... go away. It's grand fun.
This game gets YOU hooked with the creative ways in which you need to use the portals to get around (see how I followed up on the "grappling hook" thing?). And it keeps you playing by appealing to a) your curiosity about what comes next, and b) feeling smart when you figured out an elegant way through a level.
The game starts you off easy, as in the pit example described above. But as the levels progress, more and more obstacles arise while the number of floors and walls that portals are able to stick to become fewer and farther between. And as dangerous moving features of the environment and hostile robots begin to appear, time constraints on your decision-making process tighten as well. Don't want to get crushed by the pistons closing in? Better think fast about where to shoot some portals and wriggle your way out of this one!
Combat does enter the game (via the aforementioned hostile robots), but the focus remains consistently on "the thrill of the puzzle". The game never enters Rambo territory (again, you never get a gun). Yes, the robots can be killed, but you do it WITH YOUR MIND (ok - with clever use of portals).
Given the age of the game, you've probably heard most of what can be said.
It is not without its flaws. For example, it's pretty short (although not in a way that you feel ripped off, especially since you can buy it for a song these days on Steam).
There are also only a couple of ways to use the portals effectively against enemies. Because of this, the "combat" form of puzzle solving doesn't really evolve as the game progresses to the extent that the level maneuvering does. But even though "combat" is easy once you figure out the couple of tricks needed clear the room, it is still pleasurable - always a "HA, I'm smarter than you, pathetic drones!" experience.
And that is what really captures the joy of the game for me - its simplicity.
You don't need to remember 10 hot-keys while keeping track of your health bar, magic level, ammo stock, squad members, etc etc etc (my brain gets tired just thinking about the effort!); this game only involves a couple of buttons, and for better or worse there are only a few ways to use the portals to navigate the levels and thwart the hostiles.
So when you win the game (and you will), it's not because you solved a puzzle of Riven-level proportions, having sat there with a pen and paper for hours while your now-ex-girlfriend walked unnoticed out the door shouting about what a complete nerd you are.
And it's not because you tore your way through hordes of enemies with your rocket launcher. Portal has an almost laid back creative bent. At times the platforming is reminiscent of the spatial imagery evoked by descriptions of the training space in Ender's Game. You need to keep your head on a swivel when entering a room and really THINK about the space - be it to devise a way to "slingshot" yourself tremendous distances, leapfrog through portals while airborn over pit of fire, or turn enemy attacks back against the nefarious automatons.
So... if you get horribly turned around just looking up at the sky for a moment in Skyrim, then this game is probably not for you. It takes the kind of 3D navigation skills you honed in low-grav space levels of Unreal Tournament back in 1999 and deploys them effectively in a puzzle-oriented setting, and pads the visuospatial puzzle fun with subtle-but-delightfully-quirky humor. And at the end of the day, if you're a good little gamer, you just might get some tea and cake (no death).
Summary:
Short, only so many ways to use your portals to get things done.
But it is light-hearted, at times exciting, and always rewarding.
A must buy, especially given the relatively minimal time commitment of the game and low price point.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Sega CD mk1
I recently acquired a mk1 Genesis and Sega CD set with a couple of games for very cheap (along with an original NES, although I'm not sure I will keep that).
A couple of exciting things for me: the Sega CD is the more unusual original release. I believe it is also known to be more finicky than the second version, but from a collector standpoint I am happy and it seems to work well (no more jiggling of connections than a well-loved cartridge would need). I also got a pristine copy of Sonic CD in the bundle - this game is awesome: enhanced audio (not that I ever found mega drive cartridge releases of sonic to have anything less than excellent sound for what they were), some neat visual enhancements, different time "dimensions" for each level, and the ability to save (taking advantage of save-game space on the Sega CD)!
A neat arcade side-scrolling shooter Sol-Feace also came with it, which seems to have promise.
Right now I'm enjoying the novelty of listening to a Led Zeppelin cd through a 20 year old cartridge-based video game system from my childhood:
I have also discovered that the Genesis and Sega CD, when hooked up to my HDTV via the RF cable, function as a very effective amplified antenna - when powered off, nothing, but when powered on, my over-the-air reception of digital tv is easily as good as it is when I have my amplified antenna hooked up (to clarify, though, your TV must still have a built in digital tuner for this to work ;-) )
A couple of exciting things for me: the Sega CD is the more unusual original release. I believe it is also known to be more finicky than the second version, but from a collector standpoint I am happy and it seems to work well (no more jiggling of connections than a well-loved cartridge would need). I also got a pristine copy of Sonic CD in the bundle - this game is awesome: enhanced audio (not that I ever found mega drive cartridge releases of sonic to have anything less than excellent sound for what they were), some neat visual enhancements, different time "dimensions" for each level, and the ability to save (taking advantage of save-game space on the Sega CD)!A neat arcade side-scrolling shooter Sol-Feace also came with it, which seems to have promise.
Right now I'm enjoying the novelty of listening to a Led Zeppelin cd through a 20 year old cartridge-based video game system from my childhood:
I have also discovered that the Genesis and Sega CD, when hooked up to my HDTV via the RF cable, function as a very effective amplified antenna - when powered off, nothing, but when powered on, my over-the-air reception of digital tv is easily as good as it is when I have my amplified antenna hooked up (to clarify, though, your TV must still have a built in digital tuner for this to work ;-) )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
