New Themes

The plain black and white theme I had for this blog previously was a bit to boring for my taste. So after playing around with some textures, and since I really like paper style themes, I created the theme you can now see on this blog. Like you can see most stuff from the logo to the color of the text has been changed to fit in with the new theme.

Also check out my theme over at Youtube. The blue theme I had was getting boring and decided it was time to change it too. I did not create that theme as you will see by the website address on the background, but I might give it a try sometime and change it as well. The theme actually fits well with my most recent trailer of Desperados Wanted Dead or Alive.

If you are wondering where I got the background paper texture, head over to fudgegraphics.com for free textures and brushes where several can be used for personal and commercial use!

Desperados Wanted Dead or Alive

I recently discovered one of my old games and decided to start playing it again. Desperados Wanted Dead or Alive, released in 2001, its a real-time tactics game with a wild west theme.

You start with one character called John Cooper, a bounty hunter, that is interested in the bounty on a gang leader's head for robbing trains. First you will need to get a few friends to help out, and as the story progress, it becomes a lot more than just a bounty. The story is really good and with well done cut scenes and voice acting, it will keep you interested for a long time.

The game play is point and click where you basically select a action and perform it. There is a total of six characters that gets introduced as the story progress and each character also have their specific actions they can do with shooting being a general action for all characters, although the type of weapon is different for all. Fun thing about the game is, each time a new character joins your team, the following mission will be a kind of tutorial mission where you will learn each action of the character.

A lot of the game play depends on strategy. With the right actions at the right time, anything can be done. On that topic, you can also select a action for later use, and with the space bar, initiate that action, giving you the ability to focus on something else while your character does the action.

So for example what you can do, Kate O'Hara can lore a man in with showing a bit of leg. As soon as the man is close to her, she can kick him, knocking him out, allowing Samual Williams to tie him up. You can then use John Cooper to pick him up and hide him in a house or dark area where his friends can't find him and untie him. This is just one example of what can be done and with six characters, the possibilities are massive.

You can check out some more information and get the demo over at Spellbound. Its worth a try so I would suggest downloading it and trying it out.

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Since the pre-production of some movies I have planned is taking some time and that I really like this game, I decided to make a short trailer for Desperados, showing some of the game play and cut scenes. The music I used for the trailer is by EagleGuard. You can check out the full song over at Newgrounds.

Japan, Media Rant, How you can help.

Most of you will already know about the earthquake and then tsunami that have hit Japan. Its really horrible, and something that really makes me sick is the way the media covers it, and its not the first time I have seen this.

Each time there is a major natural disaster, the media is all over it with news and footage. This is good if you want to know what is going on, but I have seen times where the facts are hyped up and footage of people really needing help. Of course, instead of helping, all the media does is filming.

I see no point why they can't help out, and don't even give me that bull "but the world has to see what is going on". Thats just a weak &"&£^$* excuse to sit and do nothing. Put down that camera and help some people! Use the resources you have for filming people suffering the whole time and get people food, water and any help they need. You will do a lot more good helping some people than showing the world the suffering.
[/End Rant]

Onto what you can do to help:
If you would like to help out by donating, and your in Second Life, go and buy a Relief bear from Linden Labs. All the proceeds will be donated to the relief effort and there is different priced and type of bears you can buy. Read more here!

Linden Relief Bear and I

Machinima

Machinima’s is something I really enjoy watching and making which some of you might know if you ever seen my Youtube channel. It’s becoming more and more popular, with some games even including video recording capabilities and tools for making videos.

For the people that I already lost about what machinima is, it’s basically movies that are made with 3D engines, usually games, and the term came from machine + cinema. If you want to read in detail about it, check out Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinima

There is a lot of machinima’s out there. From romance to action, music videos to documentaries, games like Halo to World of Warcraft, Flight Simulator to Second Life, you can find something for your taste.

Easiest way to find machinima’s is to head over to a video site like Youtube and just do a search for Machinima or head over to sites like Koinup that is dedicated to machinima’s.

Below are some of my favourites that I have seen over the years. I have a lot more that I really enjoy, but this list is going to get very, very long if I post all of them.  Some of these were made years ago, so do not expect HD quality with some of them.

Kendrick's Story - Max Damage Studios [Guild Wars - Comedy]

One of the first machinima’s I have seen, this one has stuck with me from the start.

 The Letter Home - Jaggyroad Films [The Elder Scrolls - Adventure]

A movie created by Valkyrie321, it inspired me even more to get into Machinima’s more seriously.

World of Warcraft: Here Without You – Dimoroc [World of Warcraft - Romance]

A well done movie with a great story, this is proof that effects and detailed editing is NOT needed to make an amazing movie.

Elyonim: An FSX Story - Lotus Films [Flight Simulator X - Romance]

With an amazing story, this was an unexpected movie for Flight Simulator. It’s a kind of love story, and really worth checking out.

From Yesterday – Jaydee [Sims 2 - Action]

An excellent movie made in Sims 2 with the song From Yesterday - 30 Second to Mars.

Breaking - X-Cross [World of Warcraft – Music Video]

Actually a mix of WoW and Garry's mod, this movie will show you what can really be done with excellent effects and editing in machinima’s.

Man vs. Second Life - Sean Krueger [Second Life - Comedy]

Very funny and well done machinima made in Second Life. This one will leave you laughing for some time. Be sure to check out Man vs. Second Life 2 as well!

The Craft of War: Blind - Percula [World of Warcraft - Action]

Full of action with custom animation, amazing editing and well thought out story, this is a must see for all. You won’t regret it.

Red vs. Blue - Rooster Teeth [Halo - Comedy]

One of the most well known series, it is filled with humour and crazy random events.

Dragon Age: Warden's Fall - Riot Films [Dragon Age: Origins - Action]

Good story and production, this is worth watching, especially if you are a fan of Dragon Age.

There is a lot more machinima’s out there, but maybe in the near future I will post a part 2 to this to prevent this current list from getting to long. Hope you enjoy these video's and feel free to comment below with your favorite machinima!

Skyrim Official Trailer

Yes, its released! With footage of scenery, gameplay, story and a lot more, it shows the game that we will be dreaming about for a long time! But don't take my word for it, check it out yourself below!

Respect to the Bethesda team and anyone that is working on the game and made this amazing trailer. You have released something amazing today!

Domain Name Change and Facebook Rant

Sadly www.nocater.co.cc won't be reachable anymore. Due to the fact that facebook seem to hate free domain/subdomain names and some other reasons, I decided to change it to the blogspot name http://nocater.blogspot.com/

[Rant] Maybe its just me, but its really unprofessional that a website like Facebook to not review the websites they block, or even worse, block all domain extensions. As far as I can see it, www.nocater.co.cc was blocked because the domain extensions of co.cc has been used by people for evil purposes. Totally different websites, but because of that, Facebook seem to have decided to block ALL co.cc domains, and whats worse, it sounds like that they are blocking .tk sites aswell.

So why do I think all co.cc sites is being blocked? Because www.nocater.co.cc could not have been blocked for abusive content or spam. If you look through the post, does anything look like abusive content to you? I have filed a ticket about www.nocater.co.cc, but since that won't be reachable anymore, I doubt that I will receive a reply.[/Rant]

I apologize for the inconvenience and for people that have bookmarked the www.nocater.co.cc site. For now until I find a better alternative (like buying a domain name), you can find this blog at this address http://nocater.blogspot.com/

Countdown to Skyrim

If you do not know yet, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is being released on 11.11.11. This marks the fifth game in the series (excluding Battlespire, Redguard and the mobile games) and will take place in the province of Skyrim, hence the name.

Bethesda has released a new wallpaper and with it, a countdown timer that display the time left before the first in-game footage is shown by the game. At the moment of posting this, its just under two and half hours, so make sure to keep your eye on the website! As soon as that timer reach 0, prepare to run like nuts over to Elderscrolls.com.

Also, for really great website for checking out info about The Elder Scrolls series, head over to UESPWiki. Its a great source for all kinds of information on the series including lore, walkthrough, news etc.

April Script Frenzy!

We all have a stage-play, TV show or movie we enjoy, but where does it all start? Well we all know (hopefully) that the story first need to be created and written. Okay true... some movies really forgot that part, maybe that's why they never reach the top, but for the this-is-my-favorite-movie-for-eternity type of movies, the story makes the biggest impact.

So what does this have to do with Script Frenzy? This is a donation-funded nonprofit event to write a script of screenplay, TV show, graphic novel, stage-play, short film, etc. of 100 pages in the month of April. There is no fee to participate and when you reach 100 pages, you will be awarded a Script Frenzy Winners Certificate and a web icon!

Obviously there is a few little things to check out before you dive in and write a 40 hour long movie (O.O). Formatting is really important when writing a screenplay because it is a method of letting anyone be able to read it and imagine it as if it is playing in front of them. Formatting is like learning to count before doing rocket science mathematics, or learning to draw circles before drawing the Mona Lisa V2. But do not fear! Its not really that hard to learn.

Im hoping to take part myself and try my luck with writing a screenplay. It will be good experience and with nothing to loose, maybe it will even improve future machinima's I make! So head over to SCRIPT FRENZY, sign up, check out the writers resources and have some fun this April. Hope to see you there!

PS: You can now find a countdown timer on the side of my blog for the time left until Script Frenzy!

Turn off the lights!

YouTube is a great site for sharing and watching any kind of videos but something that has never been changed is the extreme white background of videos. When watching a dark video it can really be hard to see what is going on, especially if you can't maximize the video because of quality.

So here is the solution to the problem. Turn of the lights!

This extension by Stefan vd darkens everything around the video, only showing the video, making it a lot easier to watch videos.YouTube is only an example as well since it has the white background. This extension will also work at Vimeo and other flash player video sites.

And don't worry about your browser not being supported, this extension works for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Windows Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera!

Read more and download over at the official website

The extension is in English.
The website is in Dutch with a translator tool for all that don't understand Dutch.

A Game With Amazing Story?

Now and then a game comes along that just hook you to the story. A story that you will remember for years to come, that had just that little bit of detail to get you connected.

In the past I have seen a few of these, one of them being Final Fantasy 7. 

I will always remember that game, the characters, the story, and the events.

Recently, Mass Effect has done the same, with a story that really get you hooked and most likely Mass Effect 3 will continue this epic storyline.

But something else has risen again, and taking from Cinematic Trailer, this looks like something that will have one of those stories that stays with you.

Yes, I am talking about Deus Ex: Human Revolution. With the release of Deus Ex in 2000, it has grown as a favourite among many, and Human Revolution seem to want to increase that number by far.

Let us hope the story is as good as it looks and a new game of memories is soon born.

If you haven't seen the Cinematic Trailer, here is your chance.

"If you want to make enemies, try to change something"