THE FALLACY OF GRAPHICS WHORES--SORRY, I MEAN "UNREALISTIC REALISTS"

  It's the third week of June, 2013.  In the week prior, the video game industry had taken a collective step forward in pushing for a next-gen agenda, with varying levels of enthusiasm.  The spectacle known as E3 having since closed shop for another period of hibernation, it's clear that some are facing the uphill battle of their lives, and others are seemingly poised to make a legendary comeback.  Others still arouse thoughts of confliction and uncertainty at a time they aught to procure feeling of atonement and stability.  Whatever the case may be, at least one constant is still at play:  for many, the industry is pushing ever onward to grasp that crown of hyper-photorealism....it's an obsession I personally am not 100% in sync with, however, and I feel I may finally know why.

  Let's put things into context for a second.  At the dawn of this industry, when games like Pong and Pac-Man were considered entertainment revolutions, processing power (regardless of the field) just wasn't capable of anything near realism, certainly not in terms of three dimensions, but not even so far as allowing Rembrandt-level art in a real-time interactive application ither.  Visual complexity and fidelity were sacrifices for transistor limitations, even in arcades which, least for a good decade or two, went above and beyond PCs in pushing for the latest and greatest in tech (the PC has since taken that crown, but such a discussion is worth its own entry).  Regardless, many of the industry classics were concocted during these days.  As each new generation has approached, processing power has grown exponentially, bringing with it more breathing room to pursue bigger and bolder visual ambitions.

   At the turn of 3D entering the console mainstream in 1995 thanks mostly to the Sony PlayStation, however, the pursuit for more complex, more realistic visuals had kicked into overdrive.  Suddenly, everyone and their grandmother, regardless if they were working in the industry or just passionate enthusiasts, wanted to push for heavier cinematic experiences.  Games such as Resident Evil, Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid weren't just innovations in terms of game mechanisms and design; they also achieved (by their time standards) "photo realistic visual engrossment".  It was also at this point wherein the arcade industry reached its peak in being the leader for graphical amelioration, the scene symbolized perfectly in Sega's monsterous beast of hardware, the Model 3 board; in the generations to follow both the console and especially the PC market would make this sub-industry irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.  If any period in gaming history can be pinned as the definitive start of the hyper-realism arms race, it is the 32/64-bit era, hands down.

    Since then, the industry has continued to see increases in visual structure and fidelity that were mere pipe dreams only years ago, and by today has reached, some would argue, a fairly damn close grasp of that lifelong fantasy.  What was once a mirage in the desert, has now formed into an Arabian palace you can actually walk amongst and appreciate with all five senses.  Sure, it may be missing a final coat of paint and gloss in this spot or that, but you'd be none the wiser to know it, and no more ignorant if oblivious of the fact.  We can, presumably, come to the conclusion that this achievement of nigh-perfect visual exactitude has come not only from the advancements in technology, but the active push of both players and developers, almost as if in some unspoken oath, to uncover that 9th Wonder of the world.  We can also posit that it is not an anonymous effort; there are hold outs on both sides, and as I find myself drawn back into this childhood hobby on a deeper level, I can't say those guys are complete numskulls.  In fact, I find myself drifting ever more into their camp, and I have my suspicions as to why.

    You see, I have never been totally enamored with the pursuit of hyper realism in video games.  It may be because I am a late bloomer; after all, this is coming from a guy who stuck with a Genesis during the PSX/Saturn/N64 era until late 1998 (the year my parents finally purchased me a PlayStation).  It may also be due to my artistic sensibilities; being an artist myself I've always found more personal enjoyment from distinctive visual styles that tread away from the pursuits of realism, as, if I really want to see lifelike art, there is photography to cover that yearning.  It could also be due to the fact I have never once been on the cutting edge of buying the latest and greatest tech.  Call me a poor man's poor man, but I could and still can't see the justification of owning a multi-thousand dollar graphics machine for playing a game.  Maybe for creative work, certainly, but if for a game it'd better be a damn good one, and my taste for games is not satisfied by the market at large which supports those premium graphics machines, least at this point in time.

     However, the more I think of it, my somewhat indifference to eagerly pushing for hyper realism, comes down to many other factors, some personal and some to the industry at large.  I've already touched on some of the former, so let's start up again from the latter.

    It's practically everywhere you look.  On Youtube.  On Facebook.  On gaming websites and forums.  Tech sites as well.  You can't go ten clicks without seeing the prevalent focus from the gaming community on how REALISTIC everything looks, or has to look.  Or at least how good and graphically polished it should be.  The vexation on my end is not their focus on that: I think games, too--within reason--should be visually impressive or at least competent...in accordance with their thematics and macro design.  And that is where the dissonance comes into play.  With a vast majority of "these" enthusiasts--I think the term "graphics whores" is condescending so let's just say "unrealistic realists" for now--, those thematics and macro design better damn well include as close to photo realism as possible, or your game is automatically knocked down a peg or two...or several, in their eyes.  It's this equating of graphics ^ to the power of Nth realism = P Quality that is such a stinging and stodgy narrative, it borders on insulting. 

     Obviously, I understand the importance of visual quality to the enjoyment of a game overall, and not all unrealistic realists fall into this hardline camp.  Some are willing to contend a game can be of optimal worth even if it's visually not produced like a slick, big budget Hollywood production.  But it is my sad actuality to state that the vast majority are not this sensible.  You cannot give them a game such as, say, NiGHTS, or No More Heroes, or even a high-quality 2D game like Muramusa and expect them to give it a chance.  They will shun these games immediately, on the premise they offer no sense of photo realism, despite the fact the humans still look human, and green is still green.  These unrealistic realists are what I'd like to call Visual Extremists, and unlike the threatening extremists of terrorists organizations, these sorts regrettably do not number in the few thousands, they number in the tens of millions.

    To be honest, however, I cannot blame most of them for their ways.  They have in so many instances, been conditioned to participate in this arms race by the very developers of the industry, and to a lesser extent the gaming media.  Many of them were once too just gamers, and they had the same aspirations for photo realism as so many players do now.  Developers such as Crytek, Bethesda, SquareEnix, Turn 10, Polyphony, or any number of Microsoft, EA and Sony's 1st and 2nd party studios,..they are direct enablers of this pervasive mentality, and in some ways it's easy to see why.  I will be the first to admit that the next-gen offerings from the XB1 and PS4 were, for the most part, quite photo-realistic and sizable improvement over current-gen.  Visually arresting games...but what about their new and innovative game mechanics?  Be damned if I'm the one to speak on that, because at least to my eyes (and from what I've been reading on), there doesn't seem to be as much to arrest me, and for some of the games shown the innovations are only obvious to niche groups already deeply entrenched in the respective scene (a game like Destiny, for instance, having innovative dynamic mult-iplayer, but to many not deeply in the FPS scene it will come off as just another Halo).  Granted, it is difficult to articulate firmly in that manner without hands-on inwardness, but it still speaks volumes to that such innovations are not readily apparent simply from viewing.  Developers realize this as well, and if you can't wow the player on game innovations and revolutions,...well just hook them on a visual tour-de force.  And the safest visual tour-de force is always the Photo Realism route, explosion of development budget be no worry.  The big league development community has become so used to this solution, it plays itself out like a trope, but if gamers don't start demanding for different solutions en mass, these developers will have no incentive to change their practice.

   It is an issue that stems even deeper than that however; society at large is a player in this.  In this day and age, mainstream corporate has conditioned its consumers to only appreciate the greatest of beauty.  "How good is this celebrity's make up?"  "How about that bod, huh?"  "Oh that new Honda looks so sexy!"  Appreciating beauty has always been a staple of humanity; that'll never change, but to see that such a mentality has not only permeated gaming (granted, it's been this way since at least the mid-80s, though that was in the case of objective aesthetic merits), but has doubled-down into this pursuit of realism...it's a numbing sensation to say the least.  I suppose that, too, was inevitable; since the invention of the silicon, we've had a desire to see just how well technology can approach organic beauty, and the most immediate measure of that seems to be in the pixels that appear on a computer monitor or television screen.  It's this reality that makes me skeptical if the game industry (or any computer focused industry for that matter) will ever break the realism mentality: perhaps many of us subconsciously feel it's required to prove these bits of silicon can be ever as organic as real flesh and stone, and the reality of human nature is much stronger than a few billion annual dollars (corporations will continue trying to disprove that, of course ;).

   So that brings it back to me, and to answer the sataible question:  why do feel this way?  For me, gaming should have a balance.  Right now the industry is heavily tipped in the pursuit of even greater photo-realistic immersion, at the expense of more visually artistic games from receiving the time and money needed to bring their own visions to a grand level.  There is no logical reason why so many expressive games have to settle for indie status or prayer-on-a-hope Kickstarter endeavors.  There should be a mid-tier market sustainable right now to allow more Killer 7s, more Muramusas and more Estacticas to be possible, but the money simply isn't allocated for them.  Either they censor themselves and push for that verisimilitude to get a massive budget, or scale down on their technical features to fit the constraints of an indie budget; there is no middle ground here anymore.  Indie games have a bit more luck; at least they can actually exist in this climate.  Even so, they can never count on the unbridled support of the corporate games industry to give them the room for success in the marketplace the likes of a GTA or COD can see, and it's very much the unrealistic realists who continue to ensure their obscurity along the same melodia.  Obviously, the lack of a massive push for these more oddball experiences can't be solely attributed to a cultural appetite for visual exactitude...but it can certainly be specified as a major factor.

    Again, let me state that I am not AGAINST the "unrealistic realists" or their developer counterparts in all of this; I can appreciate stunningly lifelike visuals just as much as the next reasonable guy.  A lot of games at this year's E3, and PC gaming as a whole for the past 2-3 years, has accomplished realism in a way that was only a dream at the start of the current-gen console cycle.  These games deserve their accolades for that.  What I am tired of, however, is the constant equating from the unrealists in using a game's visual realism to appraise its overall quality in terms of design, structure, mechanics and player enjoyment, and even moreso tired of so many developers and media enabling this fallacy of an angle.  A game does not need to achieve hyper exactitude to be conspicuously enjoyable or of any worth; we whisper this from time to time and speak it boorishly when there's a good opportunity every once and again.  Sadly the common, everyday narrative seems to imply the inverse.

  ADDENDUM:  I seem to make the argument for visual photo-realism being a crux for being a crux for imposing less expression in other, non-visual aspects of a game's design here and there in this piece.  They are not 100% mutually exclusive, but there are definitely implications a hyper realistic style will have on the game mechanics and design philosophy of the game itself, lest there is a (usually unintended) jarring disconnect in the user's experience.  I will likely attempt to focus on this relationship more in-depth in a thematic follow-up piece, whenever that will be :)

RELAUNCH!!

  Hello everyone.  It's been a long time, huh? Welp, I'm back, and not gonna try to make this a dramatic comeback or anything.  Just a few briefings:

  --Will be deleting previous articles that don't fit to my tastes as of now

  --Only going to post complete, focused, topical blogs here.  I usually do smaller posting on my dA(fngrscr8dstroui.deviantart.com), dnbforum(mason john....yep, my Facebook profile) and Facebook (mason john).  Basically, when I'm able to collect my thoughts on a given topic in a complex and structured way, I'll put them here on this blog, otherwise I'll post randomly on spots like those and Youtube like 99% of the rest of the internet population.

  --I want to mainly focus on exploring dark, scifi/horror orientated work, wherever it may be.  Anything that pushes well beyond the typical mainstream tropes and deals with harsh elements of reality-whatever those may be-but in a way that explores creative uncertainty.  I am obsessed with things that touch into the true nature of the unfortunates of this world, particularly with some sort of scifi/technological bent-and this is as good a place as any to do so b/c I don't know any other spots.

  --If I cover music, it'll most assuredly be the likes of jungle/drum and bass/breakbeat/liquid/house/industrial stuff, with some "true" hiphop, jazz, and rock thrown in for good measure.  These are the sounds I'm invested in, they're the real melodic voice of the world and I hope to explore what interests me on this front in unique and thought-provoking ways.

  --Since I like video games, I'll cover those too.  But don't expect me to talk about the same 3-4 games everyone else does.  The mainstream games, they get enough coverage as it is.  I think people see a lot of "certain" games that come out these days and think they're so innovative, but if they knew any gaming history they'd realize they're treading on proven ground, it just wasn't treaded that much before.  Not knocking those experiences of course-the industry needs more of them-but I won't pretend they're revolutions when they're not.  But anyway; I want to cover the stuff history's tended to forgotten, the games that get ignored like the quiet kid in the family gatherings.  If I do focus on stuff that's also big on the more mainstream scene, I'll attempt doing so in ways that actually dig deeper and more uniquely into the narrative, rather than repeating the same bullet points and barely digging into the meat of the issue.

  --Same with films:  don't really expect me to talk about the same films you can get plenty of coverage on elsewhere.  Just films that interest me, or films that I may not personally enjoy, but bring up a good chance to touch on stuff.

  --This blog may end up offending a good chunk of people; I'm not a politically correct guy and I've come to understand that Offense is a two-way street:  the offender probably dressed their wording in an ambiguous way, but the offended likely reads into things wrongly.  The two sides need to compromise.  So if you are offended, please be willing to compromise and not make me feel like I'm 100% at fault, and I'll be willing to admit some flaws in my own argument as well.  As long as both sides are willing to admit they're somewhat wrong in their reaction, this can go smoothly ;)

  --Very rarely I may also get political; I don't trust the political system whatsoever and feel like it's only chance for real salvation and redemption is if the entire complex is dismantled, destroyed, and built again from scratch, but whatever.  If I do get political, I hope to not come off like a dumbass or annoying twat (this is politics, tho; that's very hard to NOT do).

  So I hope you've got a good feel on what I'm attempting to refocus The General Express into.  If I've made it sound like a ranting haven, that isn't the case:  I actually have a good grasp on vocabulary and always consider the flaws in my own viewpoints (tho I still choose those viewpoints because, even with the flaws, I just feel that way for them), and do things respectfully.  But a person who's willing to bend over backwards to appease the most sensitive of sensibilities cannot be respected either; you have to stand firm somewhere.  And there is much good in the world-even my own life sometimes-and I definitely want to embrace that too.  Truly, I'm just here to speak on the reality, tho, the facets of which teeter on being ignored and forgotten, and try to make them relevant and interesting to the ignorant.  And I'm gonna have a hell of a fun time doing it :).

Possible Drop

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 What's up?  I've done a bit of thinking over the past few days, and I've slowly been coming to the idea of consolidating myself to fewer networks.  As-is, right now I have accounts up at dA, Smackjeeves, MM, here, and FB (well, originally just for a THT page but I guess I aught develop a personal page while there).  I'm just...not up to managing so many spots, especially w/ real-world stuff to take care of and how often I'm away just delving into other pursuits. 

   Because of this, I've decided to turn off my MangaMagazine account and will be shutting the blog down here, focusing topics onto my dA and Facebook pages instead.  The reality is, the blog hasn't gotten much traction, but I'm not terribly surprised.  Besides, I've had my dA account for a very long time and it would be silly to let that one die, especially since there's actual traction there.  As for FB, well, I wouldn't consider myself a heavy social media user but why be against the idea in general?  Besides, there are a lot of cool people up there I could get to know better, there's a lot of folks up there I maybe can attract attention to THT through, and...well, it's FB.  It's taken over the web, for better or worst.  Still though,...fuck Farmville.  Seriously.  I ain't got the time or patience to play that game, big draw aside or what have you.

  In the grand scheme of things, a MM account right now isn't necessary.  There's not a big clout for what I'm doing so far-not enough of one to warrant managing a page on that site at least-and besides, I get the sense that the community there at large and I just don't have that many similar tastes when it comes to our manga and comics.  Of course, putting this blog down will be a bit tough, but it's like this:  why have a completely separate site to do blogging when both dA and FB have blogging features?  Yeah, it's not as customizable as it is here (at least, not w/o HTML coding on the user's part), but it just makes more sense for me.  Less time managing yet another avenue, more time to do what I like to do best:  drawing and writing.  Sounds like a win to me.

  At the moment, I'm not totally sure when I'll call it an end for The General Express (as it is here in this form),...maybe a week from now, maybe a month.  Since a "precarious scenario" has arisen insofar as getting more THT pages done, it might be two weeks before it happens, but it will eventually occur before I drop new THT, that's a given. 

   Apologies in advance if this move ticks anyone off the wrong way; I just gotta set priorities, that's all.  A single hub site would be preferable (even less social managing, leaving more time for "teh good stuff"), but I can't program a decent site for shit, so fuck that.  It'll be a gradual thing tho, and hey, it only means more posting on dA and FB,...not a bad deal.

   L8r (oh, and, hope you don't lose any money on the Olympic bets you've placed....c'mon, I know you placed some bets.  Ah, see, you're blushing already.  Gotcha xD!)

Semi-Depressing Launch..For Dark Knight Rises

  Evening folks.  You've probably already heard, but early into the wee hours this morning, a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado underwent a great tragedy when a gunman let loose during a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises.  It was a senseless crime, and I hope they get what they deserve.  But for now (and eternity, actually), I'm just there in spirit for the affected people who were either killed or injured; they were just fans going out to celebrate a good time, and unfortunately paid an unnecessary price.

  There is something that's been ticking my mind for a few days now tho, specifically revolving some of the hardcore fandom surrounding Dark Knight Rises.  I don't know what it is about the movie (well, I can certainly speculate, given that both Begins and Dark Knight were fantastic films in their own right), but there seems to be a very small, yet very passionate, segment of the fanbase that has been outright spiteful to anyone and anything that dares to challenge the film as being none other than 'Perfect'.  I noticed this upfront when I visited Rotten Tomatoes, catching a glimpse of comments surrounding the first negative review.  That section literally exploded in moments with all sorts of derogatory comments aimed specifically at the reviewer.  I'm talking death threats-like comments here, folks.  Granted this is the most anticipated film of the year bar none, but for fuck's sake...it's just one negative review, and not an especially damning one at that.

  Now, fast-forward a few days later up to the first midnight screenings ushering the film onto the general public, and we get this senseless tragedy in Aurora.  I can't speak much of the gunman's mindstate (and, for sake of respect of the affected, I won't mention his name), but with the miniscule number of facts that have poured in, he sounds a lot like an extremist hardcore Batman fanatic, or at least a hardcore extremist Nolanite.  And, make no mistake, I'm not trying to plaster this insane guy as the face for the crazies in either the Batman or Nolan fanbases, not even the ones posting slamming comments.  Fairly sure 99% of them would never even think of doing what this guy has done.  Having said that, though, it does at least illustrate a case of where fandom goes too far, a point where it maybe needs to be reigned in, before it becomes too late.

  I'm absolutely sure Nolan will comment on this even soon, if he hasn't already.  I know he will not condone this sort of act, and it's absolutely shameful Dark Knight Rises' premier is being saddled by this sort of episode.  I also hope the media doesn't jump down the film's throat and insinuate it somehow promotes this sort of horrific violence.  But the health of any fandom means that the rationale, healthy fans have to do their parts to keep the unruly, irrational ones in check.  I consider myself a fan of Batman and Nolan's Batman films, absolutely.  Because of that, I hope to do my part-even if it's just microscopic-to show how against I am to these sorts of incidents, whether they be physical or virtual.

  Nonetheless, I also hold the creators themselves in a high position of responsibility, and I have to be honest...I didn't like the fact Nolan defended the sort of fans that bad-mouthed and threatened some of the critics of these negative reviews.  Personally, I see those sorts of fans as the kind that turn new people from joining what's otherwise pretty awesome, and one can't blame them.  I hold that sort of action against him, but he's allowed to say and feel as he wishes.

  There's an even bigger angle I could attack this from; again, we don't know what was going through the gunman's mind, but things couldn't have been clicking for him on all sides personal, professional, economic etc.  However, this isn't the best time to do that.  I likely shouldn't have even delved into bringing up my own personal feelings on "that segment" of the fanbase.  In the end, I just feel personally for those who have suffered this hell.  We're in a time of diminishing hope and future prospects, and fewer things we can call dear and near.  Maybe that's why certain extremists in fanbases attack with such vigor,...maybe that's why the worst of the worst go to do insane acts like killing people.  Yet, I'm certain those same factors are part of the reason there are fans who like to bask in the good that can be had, to cherish those times with fellow like-minded people and living the grandness of life, even if for just a moment, even if they're critical of that great energy along the way.  But they don't deserve to be discriminated against for it,...and they sure as hell don't deserve to die for it.  Let's all try to work together, and marginalize the occurrence of these tragedies for our and future generations.

  I'm signing off for tonight.  L8r folks.

We Launch In One Hour (Approxiamate)

  What's up everyone?  The day's finally here.  I'm setting up the pages for the comic as we speak, and tho it may not be much to start with, this will definitely be an ongoing effort.  Things will be heavily refined and streamlined over the course of the next few weeks, and before too long it should all find its own voice.

  Again, just hit the typical spots between 10 and 10:30 and the first few pages will be up.  I'll probably mention more of it again in the next couple of days to show some WIPs or w/e, but we'll see how that all goes.  Humble start yes, but I hope you like what's there so far and where it will be going.

  See 'ya l8r.

Before I Call It A Night...

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  Hey peeps; making a quick drop by before I listen to some tunes and doze off for the night.  I got a new sketch/illustration to share w/ 'ya.  Hope you like it:

  It's no surprise I'm a big fan of Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita series.  I had yet to do an illustration for Gally I really liked, so I started this one some days ago.  It's something of a sketch since I decided not to use my watercolors and stuck with cheapo-grado copy paper, but thankfully the Faber-Castell markers hold up well to even the flimsiest of grounds.  Since I rarely used the colored markers, I did so w/ this sketch as well.

  I finally got a feel for the FBs, but sadly some of my Cold Greys have began to run out of ink.  I'll have to order more.  I may not get more of the color markers as soon, as I'd rather get more tubes of watercolor paint, hopefully some that match these marker equivalents.  Overall tho this was a fun little illustration to sketch, gave me some chances to get really loose here and there, keep it tight elsewhere, etc.

  Quick list of the markers used (all Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen brand):

   >Cold Greys 1-6, black >Ivory >Light Flesh >Medium Flesh >Raw Umber >May Green >Chromium Oxide Green >Sky Blue >Indathrene Blue >Dark Naples Ochre >Green Gold

  Always a challenge to scan traditional artwork to a scanner properly; for 'full-intensity' efforts I will probably just let a professional do the scans w/ high-quality equipment.  Also for w/e reason the image is stretched here..that hasn't happened w/ any other pictures I've scanned.  Maybe time to re-adjust some scanner settings?

  Can't recommend enough Faber-Castell markers.  Trust me, if money weren't an issue I'd likely get Copics,, but these babies go the long haul.  They're fantastic even on copy paper, so for the next illustration I'll see how they handle on proper illustration board ;).  

  Personal blurb:  I think my favorite color of use here was Indathrene Blue.  Well, either that or Medium Flesh, but both May and Chromium Oxide Green did neatos for the sketchy trees.  If possible I'd like to re-scan some day to a closer rep of what it looks like in person w/ optimal lighting conditions, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

  Hope you dig the drawing; be back l8r w/ more.  Uh...nighty night, you all.

Prometheus Hate and...Tyler Perry Sci-Fi? WTF?

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  Hey people; I'll try and relax and enjoy the rest of this Saturday night in a few minutes (btw, I'm delaying "that" comic by a couple of days; I need some time to chill off), but I just wanna get a few things off my chest.  Scott's recent film Prometheus...I have not seen such a backlash against a film on the internet in quite some years.  There almost seems to be a scathing sense of hatred from the supposed base, i.e Alien and sci-fi fans.  And that doesn't begin to mention the people who just didn't understand what the fuck the film was trying to do.  Let's just say I've read some posts on various sites that aren't alone in their voice, and at time seem to drown out the proponents in favor of the film.

  I myself would recommend anyone to see it in theaters, and in 3D if possible.  As said before, it's not a perfect film by any means and may fall short of Alien, but I personally am not willing to slam or condemn it from just ONE SINGLE VIEWING.  I went to that theater to be entertained, and to see a film that would do well w/ being out at midnight in a last showing of the night.  And damnit, was Prometheus that sort of movie and damnit was it worth it.  There are 'little things' I picked up that bothered me certainly, but since I was being thoroughly entertained I dismissed them.  There's no word of exactly when the film will fit DVD and Blu-Ray, but you can bet your ass I will pick it and Alien up and watch them back-to-back before drawing any definitive conclusions on Prometheus, tho some of the harder-hitting criticisms have given me ideas on what to look out for when that time comes.

  Even so, there have been far worst movies over the years that easily deserve this sort of backlash well before Prometheus...I almost get the sense most of the bickerers are just "riding the wave" of the moment and hating on it b/c a few prominent critics did so too.  Ugh, imitators....

  Speaking of 'haters', surprise surprise..Tyler Perry (yep, that Tyler Perry) also came away disappointed from Scott and Lindolof's epic.  Now, I would-in a more immature form of myself-be quick to dismiss Perry's opinion given the dubious quality most of his own efforts have consisted of.  However, if his appearance in that new cop-drama is any indication, he might actually have interests beyond the mainly mundane, and who knows, the guy might even be able to do a sci-fi epic of his own that won't devolve into dress-up caricatures and potty jokes.  So when I heard he was writing his own sci-fi script...well I'll be honest I'm very skeptical here.  Dude's gonna have to do a lot to prove he has the chops, but (and this is some honesty here) he can at least avoid some of the biggest mistakes in Lindolof's script for Prometheus...I still can't understand how some of that got through without rewrites.  Then again, this is Tyler Perry we're talkin' about here *so*....

  Okay, I'm off for the weekend.  Uploads for Surco Fresco pages over on my dA resume Monday, which is when I'll also debut the new comic project.  Until then, stay frosty kids.  L8r.