5 May 2010

Uncharted 2 Art Book Unboxing

To say that I’m ‘a little bit keen’ on Naughty Dog’s awesome work on the Uncharted franchise, would be a mammoth understatement. I think that I’m mildly obsessed with Uncharted - I have played Uncharted Drake’s Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on each difficulty, poring over the details and taking vigorous notes.

A friend of mine, who knows full well my obsession with Uncharted, linked me an article on CGSociety regarding a certain Art Book.

This wasn’t an ordinary art book, it was the Folio Edition - bound in leather, packed with images and delivered with a certificate of authenticity by way of Registered post.

Complete with gold seal, the certificate is signed by Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells (Co-President), Amy Hennig (Creative Director), Robh Ruppel (Art Director) and Erick Pangilinan (also Art Director). The certificate is signed using real ink – which is always a nice touch.

The production values of this book are glorious – a faithful testament to the stunningly lush environments of the game (which inspired my ‘palette’ exercises looking at colour schemes used in games).

This book is an absolute treat for a true fan like me. So I thought I would share the love around through photographs. Behold!

Uncharted 2 art book unboxing

Was delivered to work. Agonising wait until home time.

Uncharted 2 art book unboxing

Sealed in plastic to protect it from the elements in transit.

Uncharted 2 art book unboxing

Closeup of the intricate gold phurba icon and lettering.

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22 Nov 2009

Dexter for iPhone

title

Fig 1. Blood splattered title card - first of more splattering to come.

Jeff Lindsey’s inspired Showtime series DEXTER is an absolute favourite of mine.

For those not familiar with Dexter, he fills his day as a forensic analyst with Miami Police Department, focusing on blood-splatter. In his spare-time, Dexter satisfies his blood-thirsty “Dark Passenger” by performing ritualistic killings of victims who themselves are guilty of murder.

Dexter meticulously orchestrates his kills and leaves no forensic evidence – following the “Code” of his father with a strong focus on remaining un-caught.

I admire the writing, production and actor performances – all of which are subtle, deliberate and significant. Continue reading


3 Sep 2008

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortess 2 - The Team

Fig. 1 - Team Fortress 2 - The Team

Team Fortress 2 originally came as part of Valve’s “Orange Box” collection. This shotgun blast comprised of five games: Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1, Half Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 (TF2) – now sold separately.

TF2 (and Portal) are stand outs for me. Visuals in the game are very appealing and while it looks like a first-person-shooter cross with a Pixar film, it can get a little messy. The aesthetic is something to be marvelled, a far cry from first glimpses – which was along the same lines of Counter Strike mould – boring and generic (please see Fig. 2).

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