Foggy

My weekly commute is one long ferry ride. On this particular ride, the route was covered in intense fog. Besides an unreasonable terror with the thought that The Mist had finally become a reality, it created the feeling that we weren't moving.

The sway of the boat, the thrum of the engines were a couple of signs that at least the feeling of motion was present. Inching toward some destination. But a look out the window provided only a sliver of water visible close to the hull. It certainly looked like the boat was moving. But really, we could have been stuck in a giant fish tank with a jet of water pushing against the boat and the only thing preventing us from banging against the back of the tank was the throb of the engine. It was a really odd feeling of equilibrium.

No backward. No forward. Almost like Time had vanished. It was unnerving.

Christy Clark and Me

The audio in the YouTube clip above came from an appearance on the Christy Clarke Show (on CKNW AM980 in Vancouver, BC) when I was guest just before Christmas 2007. I was there as a video game expert to talk about games, what was hot/not, what kids should and shouldn’t be playing, etc. Unfortunately for me – and I’ve done nothing to rectify this particular issue – I have zero media training so it’s kind of difficult to listen to five years after the fact.

Christy’s first question, “So, what are the hot games this Christmas?”

What do I do? I completely sidestep the question and start monologuing about ESRB ratings.

Summer Gains a Toe-Hold

A long time coming, summer has finally arrived in Vancouver!

June was a sloggy mess of cloud and rain, unexpected chills and periods of brief sunshine. For the last four or five days, it's been nothing but sun, and some smoky haze that that the weather guy keeps telling us is drifting up from forest fires in Montana. But at least it's not rain.

Temperatures have been riding at 25 - 30 degrees (Celsius) as well, which means the barbeque has been put to use (twice!) and I'm wearing clothes that have dried in the sun.

There's a smell associated with sun-dried clothes, sheets, and towels that's hard to pin down. It's a unique, comforting smell -- one that reminds me of past summers spent at the beach or camping or at summer camp. It's a crisp, unspoiled smell. And the fabric feels different. A tumble dryer beats a towel smooth. Sun-dried, that same towel feels prickly and somehow more absorbent.

So, even though I do find it difficult to nod off promptly in a stuffy bedroom, I won't complain about the heat. We've been waiting for it, it's finally hear, and I love the smell.

From The Air

Perspective is everything.

In the case of these two pictures, it's all about being thousands of feet above the ground from the vantage point of a helicopter. These pictures were taken by Leah Holiove -- @Leah_Holiove on Twitter -- who regularly takes picture from the air in the course of her day job and these two are from her latest round of photos.

One shows the construction of the new Port Mann Bridge. (It's easy to spot because there's still a gap.) I've driven over the current bridge thousands of times and I've never given any thought to anything other than what drivers are doing around me. I've never considered how spectacular it might all look from a different perspective.

The other picture (above) looks westward to Vancouver. (The helicopter was probably close to the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge.) There's something really awesome seeing this from the air like this. Google Maps/Earth is great -- with Street View and satellite pics -- but there's something missing from those resources. Maybe it's a "texture" or maybe it's just the angle of the picture. Maybe it's the sun shining on the city and the rain brushing up against the slope of land in the distance. Or maybe it's the way the picture is framed. I can't quite put my finger on it.

What I do know is that the pictures put me in a different frame of mind.

It's really easy to fold in on oneself and focus on the issues that sit in our line of sight and nothing else. There's a lot more out there to consider. People we haven't met, friends we haven't made, stories we haven't heard, and places we've never been. Given a little perspective, a view from the sky, makes me better appreciate what this part of the world has to offer and just how good we have it here.

"A Radical 20 Years" -- DONE

In case you missed it on The Armchair Empire, all four parts of the Radical Entertainment 20th anniversary feature have now been posted:

• Part I - Founding
• Part II - The Middle Years
• Part III - Trials & Tribulations
• Part IV - The Next 20 Years

I've noted this before, but overall I'm relatively happy with the way the feature turned out. I obviously would have loved input -- any input at all -- from co-founders Rory Armes and Ian Wilkinson. The latter in particular because he spent 16 years with the company. That's a whole line of untapped information and history that I just didn't get access to even though I fulfilled the requirements he laid out in our one and only chat. Never got a call back after repeated calls and even a letter that was mailed to his office. At least with Armes, I was gently told he wasn't interested.

Assistant: Rory will not be participating in interviews at this time.
Me: So, when will he be participating in interviews?
Assistant: (muffled words) Rory will, uh, not be participating in interviews.

Be that as it may, it's too much energy to hold a grudge. The article could have been much richer for their participation no doubt. I'm just thankful that at the very least Dave Davis was forthcoming enough to shed some light on the early days.

I'd also like to thank, in no particular order, Eric Holmes, Dave Fracchia, Matt Armstrong, Tom Legal, Ken Rosman, Kelly Zmak, Chris Ansell and Steve Cherrier for giving me some their valuable time and sharing their insight. Thanks!

Dam's a'Burstin'

The other day I wrote about being completely blocked up when it came to finishing my feature on Radical Entertainment's 20th anniversary -- I've posted Part I! Read it! -- but on Sunday night, the damn burst.

As fast as I could type, the words poured onto the page, I cut and pasted quotes from the interviews I conducted, and screenshots and pictures materialized -- and it all stitched together. To be sure, there's still some fine tuning involved but it doesn't feel like I should tear the articles apart and start again, which is what I was encountering previously.

Even the capstone -- my little post script where "I" appears -- tumbled off my fingers.

Were the words there all along and they just needed time to percolate in my brain long enough to form into something coherent? Something good? Like sausages? The component parts don't always make sense but grind it all together and fry it with some onions... that's makes for good eating. Or reading, in this case.

That's my hope at least.

I mean, I like reading it. Onions or not.

1241 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC

I've been doing a lot of research and interviewing for my upcoming feature on Radical Entertainment. They're celebrating 20 years so it's kind of big milestone, especially in the world of game development.

In the process of gathering information and doing interviews, I've become somewhat fascinated by the early history and the stories behind the Who, What, When, Where and Why of things associated with the company.

Most recently this happened while trying to run down information and a picture of the original building at 1241 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC. There are plenty images of the building there now -- a modern residential apartment -- but it has taken me a long time to find any of the original building. I finally found one!

1241 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC (circa. ~1910)

The description found in the "Self-Guided Walking Tour - Yaletown" describes the building:

"Rooming houses such as this one offered inexpensive, convenient lodgings for the many single working men who crowded into Vancouver in the early 1900s. Completed in 1910, the building was designed by architect J. Pearson for David McCall, a CPR boilermaker. The double-entry stair and the wooden cornice and brackets are original, but the gingerbread curlicues were added when the building was renovated for office use."

When I first started doing interviews, there was a legend, myth, story, whatever, that the original building where Radical Entertainment got its start was a brothel at one point. I have yet to actually confirm that rumour but because the building "offered inexpensive, convenient lodgings for the many single ... men" it's not outside the realm of possibility that some section of it was a bawdy house or offered those kinds of "services."

The old building was demolished some years back and the residential apartment building that replaced it doesn't have the same kind of character as the original building.

Radical is (obviously) no longer at that same site. The company moved many years ago to their building on Terminal Avenue, close to the big golf ball of Science World and just south of the Vancouver Pacific Central Station. The trains arriving and departing the station can be seen from the north-facing offices. It's a faint echo of the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) origins of the original building. I like that bit of synchronicity.

Strangers in the Night

For the last few days I've been riding the Skytrain/bus with my 3DS since it affords plenty of time to play Mario Kart 7. (Review coming soon!) Just 'cause, I've left Streetpass turned on. I've never had much luck making connections with StreetPass to share Mii avatars, except at E3 where the place was swarming with StreetPass information, but you never know.

Somewhere in Vancouver -- because I'm pretty sure it's happening downtown -- there's a guy (presumably) I've shared StreetPass information with a few times.

So, this morning I spent time carefully observing everyone as I went from home to work to see if I could figure out who I might be tagging. There's never been obvious signs to go on, like someone playing a 3DS. That would make it easy.

I stare at people, paying special attention to the eyes. If they look tired -- gamers all look tired, except for Victor Lucas -- then I'll try to glance at their hands. I look for thumb calluses next, because any hardcore gamer will exhibit a certain level of hardened, leathery skin close to the tips of the thumbs (or at the heel of the wrist for PC gamers). Then I check the wardrobe for game-related items. And so far I've come up empty on leads. I have no idea who is passing close enough to me to exchange Mii data and it's kind of irking me.

It's probably just be some regular dude doing the commute the same as me. And maybe he's not even that hardcore. Though he is playing Super Mario 3D Land so he must be enthusiastic about Nintendo stuff at least.

It does make me wish there was an option to have notification pop up when I've tagged a Mii avatar. Something along the lines of Xbox Live and PSN and Steam which pop up notices for everything. "BLANK is now online." "Friends using this app." How difficult would it be to flash up a note about a new Mii arriving at the Mii Plaza via StreetPass? I don't know, but Nintendo should get on that immediately. I need to know who I keep bumping into.