Bottom 5 Video Game Interfaces!

I have come across some terrible video game interfaces in my day. Up to right now, these are my bottom 5 video game interfaces from the next gen consoles.

5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Why is the type so small that I need a magnifying glass to see it? The interface itself is not ugly, just somewhat impractical. I shouldn't have to stand 6 inches away from my television to be able to read the type.

4. Marvel vs Capcom 3 - MvC3 is one of the best fighting games that I have ever played. Such an anticipated, artistic, beautiful game; with quite possibly the most annoying online gaming interface. Why in the blue hell do we need to be sent back to the main menu every time you don't find a game? I have no idea. (On a side note, you are also forced to play against people that are sometimes a much higher level than you). Other than that, what forces this great game's interface to the number 4 spot on the bottom 5 is it's function rather than appearance.

3. Elder's Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Slow loading in-game interface and to make it worse – the soundtrack for the load screen and menues was god-awful. 

2. UFC 2010 - Whatever number 3 did, number 2 did even worse. I loved playing UFC 2010, it was such a fantastic game... plagued with an awful musical score and outrageously long load times.

1. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Again. Sorry, I just can't stand the soundtrack. It's really THAT bad. Sometimes I play the game muted, just because it practically makes my ears bleed. Sometimes I just yell at the tv screen out of frustration because of the soundtrack. Just listen for yourself.

Do you think I missed any of your hated menus? Let me know! Tune in next week for some more imagination.

Top 5 Video Game Interfaces!

You buy your brand new game, you open the case pop in the disc and sit down on your couch. Then your greeted by an ugly (or boring) video menu. Of course, games aren't about the menus, they're about the content, but even so I wish that sometimes these video game companies would spend a little more time on the interface that the users is forced to look at when he starts or pauses the game. There are some games, however, that have great menus and start up screens. Here are the top 5 that I have seen.

5. Bioshock - The eerie piano sound effect and the fantastic original score just add to the beauty of the cinematic main menu.  Would you kindly...

4. Fallout 3 - The use of the Pip-Boy and the aesthetic in it's entirety is great. You really feel like your living on the Wasteland.

3. Halo: Reach - The combination of it's epic soundtrack and it's imagery compels you to play. You just want to kick butt and take names.

2. Call of Duty: Black Ops - You are strapped to a chair, there are televisions in front of you, your legs and arms are tattered and covered in blood, all in first person. Not to mention that the transition from menu to single player campaign is flawless.

1. Portal 2 - It's... *tear* beautiful. One of the most anticipated games of 2011 has a good looking interface.  From when you pop in your disc until you hit your option of play, you are infatuated by it's beauty.

If you think I missed any, leave them in the comment section! Tune in for next week's Bottom 5 worst interfaces!

Mortal Kombat - New Mini Series

In 2010, a live action Mortal Kombat promo debuted.

It looked amazing. After watching it, no one had any idea what it may have been... a live action movie? a tv show? Wrong. On April 12th, Warner Premiere released the new mini series Mortal Kombat Legacy, a live-action of the beloved and bloody video game series Mortal Kombat. Here is the highly anticipated first episode.

We all know of Mortal Kombat's embarrassing past on the silver screen. With it's cheesy dialogue and horrible action scenes, it was quite possibly one of the most horrendous movies I have ever seen in my life. This on the other hand looks far more promising. I love the new morbid look of the series, it looks a whole lot closer to what the video game franchise really is. I'm excited to see what the next episode brings.

Summer Blockbusters!

The excitement is killing me! This summer, two (of many) highly anticipated movies will be released; Captain America: The First Avenger and Green Lantern! Being a huge comic book nerd I am very familiar with both characters, and can't wait until I see them on the big screen. Comic book based movies are usually either hit or miss. They either become a really huge success and make fans like me happy (Spiderman, The Dark Knight) or they are a complete failure and anger fans (the 2003 Hulk movie, Electra). The film's success boils down to these factors: the director, the writer and the actors. Captain America: The First Avenger looks super promising. Check out the high def extended trailer here. The director, Joe Johnston, has had great success on the silver screen with titles like Jumanji, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and The Rocketeer under his belt. The screenplay writers are the same duo who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia movies, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. There's not much need to write a story for a Captain America movie since there is so much well written content out there by some of the most creative minds like Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and Ed Brubaker. As an added bonus, Chris Evans (Cellular, Johnny Storm from the Fantastic 4, Lucas Lee from Scott Pilgrim Vs the World) stars as the first avenger and Hugo Weaving (mr. smith from the matrix, V from V for Vendetta, Elrond from LOTR) stars as his arch nemesis, the Red Skull. Green Lantern: The less advertised awesome hero. If you never knew how awesome he is, check out the summer movie trailer here. The director, Martin Campbell is known for Goldeneye, Casino Royale (the better of the two new Bond movies), and the Legend of Zorro. The screenplay writers have a decent portfolio, one of which wrote the screenplay for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. With Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern and Mark Strong as Sinestro, you can't really go wrong (maybe you can, but it'd be really hard). They even look the part.

It takes a great deal of work to make these movies happen, so hopefully they do become the blockbuster we all want them to be.

Design Ramblings

I recently received what I ordered from moo.com, and the quality was superb. Take a look at the cards I printed (one being my uncle's cards and one being my cards). The printing was inexpensive, the shipping time was speedy and the packaging was just as awesome as the product. I would definitely recommend everyone to get their cards and other things printed here.

On another note, I found some interesting logo evolutions online while boredom surfing. As we all know, a logo is the most important branding tool a business can have. Without the identifying stamp that a logo puts on a product, we wouldn't be able to tell one product from another (ex.tropicana from florida's natural), and maybe not even care.

Check these interesting logo evolutions out here

Need Awesome Cards?

Moo.com is an amazing website where you can get custom business cards, with a twist. You can upload multiple designs and get a different print on every one of your cards (up to 100 different images) It's amazing. Check out this video which talks about the printfinity option.

The iPad 2!

How amazing was the new Apple iPad 2? It's unbelievable how innovative Apple can be. Some people see the iPad as just a big iPod. FALSE. It's more like a large rectangle of AWESOMENESS. Even more awesome than the rectangle monolith from 2001 A Space Odyssey. With the new addition of the facetime application and with the new flash equivalent software, this tablet just blows the competition out of the water. Not only does it have application possibilities, it is 33 percent thinner, 15 percent lighter and a new A5 core processor. If that's not enough, they included a new smart cover. This smart cover is amazing, it acts not just as a screen protector, it also acts as a stand for the iPad. It magnetically attaches itself and aligns itself perfectly to the screen. It's amazing how creative and innovative Apple can be, they never run out of ideas!

Check out the new iPad case here!

Great Success!

The Junior Graphic Design Show was a great success! Many showed up, and I would like to thank you all for the support! There were about 100 people at the reception, the food was great and all the work looked fantastic in the gallery. Sadly, it had to be taken down on Monday, so whoever missed it missed out! Maybe you could relive our memories through the 4 images underneath my post, which are just 4 of the many beautiful pieces that were at the show. (These 4 images were 4 of my panels from my show).

First Annual Junior Graphic Design Show

On March 11th, 2011 is the first annual Junior Graphic Design Show at SUNY Purchase! Stress is high, deadlines are approaching and sleep is lost. A few of my classmates and I will have work featured in the show. Various mediums will be present including print and motion graphics. My submissions include my Type as a Metaphor project (which consists of 4 panels) and my Typographic Novel.  It's been a crazy week so far, getting work together, mounting and submitting, but the result was definitely worth it. The pieces look great. Everyone is welcome to come by and check out the hard work we've been up to. Food and drinks will be served, so what do you have to lose? Checking out great art while eating delicious food? It doesn't get any better than that!

Check out the facebook event here.

Creation on Film

One of the highest honors anyone involved in film making can achieve is an Academy Award. This merit is awarded to only the best films of that year.  As I watched these hardworking men and women receive their awards, one thing crossed my mind. What are my top 5 favorite movies of all-time (as of 2011)? As a huge movie buff, thats a question that is asked frequently. So here is my response in ascending order.

My list of favorite movies is always changing, but as of right now the list begins at V For Vendetta. This gem from 2006 was a masterpiece based off of the graphic novel written by Allen Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (who I met, and is a nice guy). But besides that, it's the Wachowski Brother's second masterpiece right after the first Matrix movie. The film revolves around a masked vigilante code-named "V" who takes action towards his totalitarian government through acts of "terrorism". Before I spoil the film, go rent it on netflix.

My fourth favorite is Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino rewrites World War II in the history books with this epic film. Hans Landa gave me nightmares for a week.

Up third would be JCVD. Half of you probably have not even heard of this gem. JCVD follows the life of Jean Claude Van Damme. As we all know, he has made a lot of mistakes in his life and recently has only been getting straight to dvd gigs. This movie is somewhat a biography of his personal experiences from the past 5 years. Honestly, for the first time in his career I believe that Van Damme deserved the Oscar. His personal battles are much more hard hitting than his on screen battles against over sized goons. Definitely a must-see.

Second, The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan is a genius. GENIUS! His mind is choc full of never ending ideas unlike any other filmaker. Memento, Inception and Batman Begins are just a few of the masterpieces in his repertoire, The Dark Knight being his best work. Heath Ledger gave such an amazing performance as the Joker, there will never be any other like him. Christian Bale is the BEST Batman (yes, beating the 'ole Adam West). Gary Oldman made me believe that his birth name was James Gordon. If you have not seen it, you've been living on the moon and I suggest you come back to earth and buy it on dvd. Note how I said buy and not rent. I mean it.

As of right now, my favorite movie is Pan's Labyrinth. This film is an fairy tale for grown ups, where people don't really live happily every after. It actually takes place in Spain during WWII, and follows Ophelia, the young curious step daughter of the General of the Spanish army. Theres not much more that I want to give away, being that the trailer and my brief explanation gives enough information. Hop on amazon and buy it now!

This list will probably change within the next few months as I vegetate in front of my television. But in the mean time, if your feeling lazy or are just having a bummy day... check those movies out.

The Failure of Stock Logos

I always wondered, "Why in the blue hell do people buy stock logos?" They look absolutely terrible and cliche, and thats only the beginning of a host of problems with them. These stock logos kill the art of logo design and lowers the value of a real logo. Seriously, if you want your business to look good and legitimate, spend the extra money and hire a real designer to do your logo. I'm not talking about your 15 year old nephew who has Photoshop CS2 on his Dell PC and claims he can design. I'm talking about hiring a student of the arts or a Graphic Design firm. It may cost you more money, but trust me, presentation is everything. Think of this: You see two restaurants. One has the ugliest sign in the world and the building looks terrible. The second has a beautiful professional looking sign and the building looks pretty new. You have in your hand a menu of the two restaurants, the first restaurant being a lot cheaper than the second. Knowing the price difference, which restaurant would you go to? The ugly one or the nice looking one? Obviously the nicer one, though it is pricier. Your appearance governs the attraction of your audience. Thats why millions of dollars are spent on marketing and design in major companies. So why not spend the extra money on a designer to make yourself look good?

Check this article out that supports my rambling:

Stock Logos? Why?!