OK Here's a cartoon that pretty much illustrates exactly Captain Zero development has been on hold for a while:

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The idea came from this:

Actually I got the idea a long time ago when it was more topical, but I want to finish it before Obama is no longer president.  This image is just begging to be made into a game...  How easy would it have been to make a simple skeet shooting kinda game out of this... but no... not me.   I had to make it a big massive defense game with UNDEAD SKELETON CHICKENS.  Bonus weapons, power ups, lots of animation... flame throwers...ray guns... bosses... Skeleton Chicken Tanks.. .Flying skeleton chickens... flying skeleton chickens on fire... Drone strikes...

I just want it done!  

Response to American McGee's rant about Anita Sarkeesian's "Strong Women in Video Games pt 1"

I'm loathe to fly a flag one way or another in this whole thing, but this is just so ridiculous, I can't stay silent. A couple of weeks ago, Anita Sarkeesian released the first video in a new series called "strong women in video games." here:

http://www.feministfrequency.com/2015/03/the-scythian-sword-sworcery/

Then, on his Facebook page, American McGee, creator of the Alice games, posted this response:

Seriously, isn't Anita saying this character is acceptable because she's such a blank slate? I can't help but think the "woman" in this game might as well be wearing a burka for all the identity she has. If this is "positive" and we (as game writer/designers) are meant to emulate this model... then I imagine the characters in our future games getting some really odd looks as they walk down the streets of virtual Los Angeles, sneak through the corridors of Space Station 009, or try to blend into any world that isn't a magical fantasy world of pixel make-believe.

To me, real characters, positive characters, have flaws. They're broken. They have an identity constructed of past events - good and bad. Like real people, they might make poor "life choices" which result in them being shallow minded, skin revealing, homicidal maniacs, who wear women's lingerie under their space armor. Or, like the rest of us, they might be who they are, and wear what they wear, because society (the real world) hasn't left them many other options. If we're going to tell real stories, it's best we do that with characters who closely resemble real people.

Pixel burka woman is art. So are real people.

As American McGee prepares to dismiss what he calls the “SJW backlash” for his criticism, I don’t see anything about it that is sexist or demeaning to anyone, except maybe to McGee himself.  The problem with his tirade has nothing to do with “social justice.”   The problem is, it doesn’t make sense. So I guess I'm more of a Making Sense Warrior. Here's my MSW backlash:

Let’s break this down, shall we?

Seriously, isn't Anita saying this character is acceptable because she's such a blank slate?

Seriously. No she isn’t saying that. At all.  Nowhere does Anita use the word “acceptable,” nor does she say she likes it simply because it’s a “blank slate.”   Seriously, here’s the transcript.  Where does she say that?  

http://www.feministfrequency.com/2015/03/the-scythian-sword-sworcery/#more-29557

Anita points out that the Scythian is a “blank slate” in the same way that has been attributed to Mario, Chelle from Portal 2, Steve from Minecraft, and many others.  The personality, as she says, “...does come through as her thoughts serve as a kind of narration for the story,“ but this isn’t, according to ANYTHING she said, the reason the Scythian is a “strong female character” let alone “acceptable.”  

Having played the game, I have to add The Scythian isn't really much of a "blank slate" except maybe at first sort of visually. "Blank Slate" is an abstract concept that applies in varying ways to almost any video game player character. By only speaking in "wa" type sounds, Link is kind of a "blank slate" making the hero more you than the on screen character. The "Doom Guy" in Doom 1 and 2 are blank slates.

Anita barely mentions this as part of a general description of the game, so why people get so hung up on it is beyond me. She's not saying it's a strong female character because it's a "blank slate" any more than she's saying it's a strong female character because she "has dark hair."

I can't help but think the "woman" in this game might as well be wearing a burka for all the identity she has.

Really? You can’t help it?  Because I look at that and don’t see a “burka” at all. I see basic armor.  Probably studded leather armor.

Oh look.  Burka!

No… THAT’S a burka.  Just for future reference

Burkas generally don’t have shiny button parts on them, for one thing, also they don’t have, you know… pants. Like an ink blot in in a psychiatrists office, McGee’s interpretation tells us what’s on his mind, rather than the sprite in question.

What do you see, McGee?  BURKAS! OMG BURKAS!

She’s wearing an appropriate outfit to go fight monsters and brave a hostile world. The character’s “identity” doesn’t have to hit you over the head with its appearance, it can come out in the action and game play.

I imagine, when you put so much effort into into highly detailed game characters, then have to raise money on Kickstarter to make a sequel, while seeing someone else selling millions of copies (S&S:EP has sold over 1.5 million worldwide) and getting praise for such low detail and minimal effort… that must be frustrating on some level.  

Needs Kickstarter Money to keep franchise going...

...Sold to Microsoft for 2.6 billion dollars

Doesn't seem fair, does it?

But none of that is Anita’s fault, and it has nothing to do with her video.

Also, I can’t help but think he wouldn’t go to “burka” or have anything whatsoever to say about the “identity” or lack thereof, if the character were male, or if Anita Sarkeesian didn’t happen to, God forbid,  like her.   The truth is, The Scythian has plenty of identity, just not one shoved in your face or strictly enforced by the narrow authoritarian rules of “acceptable” gender stereotyped markings.

Why does McGee write woman in quotes?  Because you’re not a “woman” for real unless you have a big pink bow or dress and high heels?   Here… is this better?

*Gamergate Approved*  “Miss Scythianette” and her pink heart shield!

Happy now?

(sorry I couldn’t resist)

If this is "positive" and we (as game writer/designers) are meant to emulate this model…

Um, no.  Watching the video, it’s pretty clear she’s not saying you literally have to use THAT exact model for every game… or anything really like that exact model.  Honestly I can’t believe I have to tell a "grown man" this.

She’s NOT saying: All female characters in video games have to be just like the Scythian.

She’s NOT saying:  All female characters in games have to be blank slates, or retro-pixelated.

She’s NOT saying: All female game characters have to be anything in particular.

I imagine the characters in our future games getting some really odd looks as they walk down the streets of virtual Los Angeles, sneak through the corridors of Space Station 009, or try to blend into any world that isn't a magical fantasy world of pixel make-believe.

Well he does have some imagination, clearly, but I have to wonder: What looking-glass did McGee trip through to get from what Anita’s saying about the Scythian, to some ridiculous expectation that denizens in Los Angeles, or Space Station 9  need to look like subdued pixelated medieval fantasy characters?  It’s so far from what she’s saying, I just can’t make any sense of it.

What she IS saying is:

• the Scythian character is female without making a big deal out of her “femaleness.”  
• She’s not marked with a bunch of limiting stereotypical gender markings.
• She’s an adventurer and a hero FIRST, and a female somewhere down the list.

McGee or any other game designer could easily emulate these principles without their characters getting any “odd looks” in LA, in space stations or anywhere else.  In fact, I’d say she’d get a hell of a lot fewer “odd looks” dressed in an appropriate normal outfit for what she’s doing than some bikini-armor game heroines now.  

So..she wouldn't get any "odd looks" downtown?

I live in LA, and never saw any young women in blood smeared glif sporting white dresses wielding kitchen knives, and I've seen some weird shit.  I'm Pretty sure Alice, would get a few “odd looks” downtown, but in the Alice environment she fits just fine.

To me, real characters, positive characters, have flaws. They're broken. They have an identity constructed of past events - good and bad. Like real people, they might make poor "life choices" which result in them being shallow minded, skin revealing, homicidal maniacs, who wear women's lingerie under their space armor.

So Minecraft would be a better game if Steve had a garter belt peeking out from his plain pants, track marks from the ravages of drug addiction and maybe some razor blade scars from where he cut himself “just to feel something,” or what?

A character’s identity doesn’t have to be ostentatiously flashing on his or her costume.  Not resorting to obvious visual clues might force the artist to dig deeper and let the identity develop and be discovered and created by the player experience, rather than shoving it down the player’s throat visually with an outfit that says, “Look at me! I have layers!”   

But, let’s say, the character has a unique quirky inner monologue that the player is privy to, and instead of the stock cliche “leveling up” in most adventure games, THIS character actually gets worn down by all the strain of the quest, so that by the time the quest is nearly over, she’s actually having to stop and vomit once in a while?  Is that “flawed” or  “broken” enough for you?  Wish granted!  The Scythian is exactly such a character.

Yep! Definitely a burka!

The idea that a human being or character in a game “has no identity” depending on what she’s wearing says more about McGee than it says about the Scythian or about Anita’s review of her.

Or, like the rest of us, they might be who they are, and wear what they wear, because society (the real world) hasn't left them many other options. If we're going to tell real stories, it's best we do that with characters who closely resemble real people.

So no minimalist games, no pixelated retro games, no games with animal or non-real-human characters for that matter. Only realistic human characters are “best?”   That’s about as limiting as it gets.  

It’s McGee, not Anita, telling us what’s “acceptable."  So shut up anybody who likes retro style games, cause American McGee “knows what’s best” for you!

We can decide for ourselves, thanks, McGee.

And finally he ends with this nonsensical gem…

Pixel burka woman is art. So are real people.

Um.. no.  I’m pretty sure that’s “Pixel leather armor woman,” and no, real people are not “art.”  I think Martin Gore said it best:  People are PEOPLE.  And people are  more than just their outfits.

Real people make art.  Sometimes some aspects of that art are subtle and abstract and that’s OK, even if heaven help us, Anita Sarkeesian happens to like it.

Response to American McGee's Response to Anita's "Strong Female Characters pt 1" Video

Recently (well years ago in internet time, but recently for me) American McGee (creator of the Alice series)

Seriously, isn't Anita saying this character is acceptable because she's such a blank slate? I can't help but think the "woman" in this game might as well be wearing a burka for all the identity she has. If this is "positive" and we (as game writer/designers) are meant to emulate this model... then I imagine the characters in our future games getting some really odd looks as they walk down the streets of virtual Los Angeles, sneak through the corridors of Space Station 009, or try to blend into any world that isn't a magical fantasy world of pixel make-believe.

To me, real characters, positive characters, have flaws. They're broken. They have an identity constructed of past events - good and bad. Like real people, they might make poor "life choices" which result in them being shallow minded, skin revealing, homicidal maniacs, who wear women's lingerie under their space armor. Or, like the rest of us, they might be who they are, and wear what they wear, because society (the real world) hasn't left them many other options. If we're going to tell real stories, it's best we do that with characters who closely resemble real people.

Pixel burka woman is art. So are real people.

Let’s break this down, shall we?

Seriously, isn't Anita saying this character is acceptable because she's such a blank slate?

Seriously.  Nowhere does Anita use the word “acceptable,” nor does she say she likes it simply because it’s a “blank slate.” So right away McGee misses the point in her video and like many Anita detractors, argues with himself more than her.  

The easy answer to this question is, no. No, McGee, she isn’t saying that. At all. Seriously.

Anita points out that the Sithian is a “blank slate” in the same way that has been attributed to Mario, Chell from Portal 2, Steve from Minecraft, and many others.  The personality comes from the player, but this isn’t, according to her, the reason the Sithian is what she calls a “strong female character” let alone “acceptable.” It just is what it is.

Acceptable means it’s “allowed according to her ‘rules’” which isn’t what she’s doing at all.  She’s not making a point about what’s "acceptable" or not. It's just a strong female character. That's it.

I can't help but think the "woman" in this game might as well be wearing a burka for all the identity she has.

Really? You can’t help it?  Because I look at that and don’t see a “burka” at all. I see basic armor.  Probably studded leather armor.  

Clearly one of those multi shaded shirt length studded leather burkas

Not burka.  Armor.   Burkas don’t have shiny stud parts on them, for one thing, nor do they have, you know... pants. So like an ink blot test, McGee’s interpretation says more about him than about the image in question.

What do you see, McGee?
BURKAS! BURKAS! OMG BURKAS!

How would you propose giving her “identity?” Maybe a chainmail bathing suit and a big pink bow?  She’s wearing an appropriate outfit to go fight monsters and brave a hostile world. The character’s identity doesn’t have to hit you over the head with its appearance, it can come out in the action and gameplay.  Antia Sarkeesian didn’t invent the pixelated style, or the “blank slate” protagonist or minimalism in game graphics, so what is McGee arguing with? Those styles?  

That’s fair and certainly it’s OK not to like that style of character… Someone who put so much effort into detail on near photorealistic game characters seeing someone else selling games and getting praise for such low detail and minimal effort in that area must be frustrating on some level.  

None of that is Anita’s fault and it has nothing to do with her video. If his beef is with the “pixelated style” I expect to see his scathing review of Minecraft, because, be honest, how much “identity” does Steve have, really?  

No realism... no "identity."  (Sold to Microsoft for 2.6 billion)

Also, I can’t help but think he wouldn’t go to “burka” or have anything whatsoever to say about the “personality” or lack thereof, if the character were male, or if Anita Sarkeesian didn’t happen to like her.

If this is "positive" and we (as game writer/designers) are meant to emulate this model…

Um, no.  Watching the video, it’s pretty clear she’s not saying you literally have to use THAT exact model for every game.

She’s NOT saying: All female characters in video games have to be just like the Scythian.

She’s NOT saying:  All female characters in games have to be blank slates, or retro-pixelated.

She’s NOT saying: All female game characters have to be anything in particular.

I imagine the characters in our future games getting some really odd looks as they walk down the streets of virtual Los Angeles, sneak through the corridors of Space Station 009, or try to blend into any world that isn't a magical fantasy world of pixel make-believe.

I can’t help but wonder: What lookingglass did McGee trip through to get from what Anita’s saying about the Scythian, to some ridiculous expectation that denizens in Los Angeles, or Space Station 9  need to look like subdued pixelated medieval fantasy characters?  It’s so far from what she’s saying, I just can’t make any sense of it.

What she IS saying is:

• the Scythian character is female without making a big deal out of her “femaleness.”  
• She’s not marked with limiting stereotypical gender markings.
• She’s wearing an outfit that makes sense based on what she’s doing and where she is.  
• She’s an adventurer and a hero FIRST, and a female somewhere down the list.

McGee or any other game designer could easily emulate these principles without their characters getting any “odd looks” in LA, in space stations or anywhere else.  In fact, I’d say she’d get a hell of a lot fewer “odd looks” dressed in an appropriate normal outfit for what she’s doing than some bikini-in-a-snowstorm game heroines now.  And even these are just suggestions; nobody’s going to take away our chainmail lingerie or ridiculously impractical body armor of any kind.  

To me, real characters, positive characters, have flaws. They're broken. They have an identity constructed of past events - good and bad. Like real people, they might make poor "life choices" which result in them being shallow minded, skin revealing, homicidal maniacs, who wear women's lingerie under their space armor.

So Minecraft would be a better game if Steve had a garter belt peeking out from his plain pants, and hints of scars from the ravages of drug addiction or what?  I mean that sounds interesting, but it’s just not that kind of game.

A character’s identity doesn’t have to be ostentatiously flashing on his or her costume.  Not resorting to obvious visual clues might force the artist to dig deeper and let the identity develop and be discovered and created by the player experience, rather than shoving it down the player’s throat.

The idea that a human being or character in a game “has no identity” depending on what she’s wearing says more about McGee than it says about the Scythian or about Anita’s review of her.

Or, like the rest of us, they might be who they are, and wear what they wear, because society (the real world) hasn't left them many other options. If we're going to tell real stories, it's best we do that with characters who closely resemble real people.

So no minimalist games, no pixelated retro games, no games with animal or non-real-human characters for that matter. Only as photorealistic human characters as possible are “best?”  Talk about not leaving people with “many other options!”  That’s about as limiting as it gets.

And finally he ends with this…

Pixel burka woman is art. So are real people.

That’s “Pixel armor woman,” and no, real people are not “art.”  They’re real people.  Real people make art.  Sometimes some aspects of that art are subtle and abstract and that’s OK, even if Anita Sarkeesian happens to like it.

Working on Captain Zero Music

I knew this was going to happen.  I made up my mind a while back that I wasn't going to do the music for Captain Zero so I could focus on development and actually get the thing done!   But I never seem to follow my own rules.

So I dove head first into composition using Acid Wave and a loosely curated, but vast museum of VST instruments, samples and effects that I've collected over the years.

There's a reason I'm doing it myself, though.

In the original Captain Zero --which was made about 10 years ago or so in Dark Basic --and featured as one of their example games in the first issue of TheGameCreators online monthly publication-- I tried something I hadn't really seen before as far as game music:

I made dancy techno music, which is very common in video games, but since as a genre, techno is primarily loop-based, I decided to have a loop for each enemy type mix into the overall background music.  The common enemy fighters were a base loop, tougher fighters brought with them a synth lead.  Weirder, more abstract but rhythmic noises were added for more exotic enemies and full dark sounding marches came in with larger enemy ships.  In the background, always there is a melodic, ambient spacey pad kinda sound.

Now with the ability to add realistic sounding orchestral motifs, I really have a lot of choices for bringing on the mood.  

I remember Serious Sam where you always knew when trouble was coming because of the music.  Everything looks quiet, but oh crap there's that music again!

In her book Unheard Melodies by Claudia Gorbman, she describes narrative film music or "background music" as "non-diegetic."  This means it's music that the audience can hear, but the characters can't.  It's meant to be a way of conveying the feelings going on in the scene to the audience.

Film makers have done amazing things with varying levels of diegetic music.  In comedy,  a really dramatic, sad piano score might be playing, and as it swells two lovers stop their conversation and look indignantly over to a corner of the room where a piano player is actually playing it in the scene. The piano player says "Sorry..."

Or "On the Road Again" is playing in a movie as we see a truck moving down the freeway from high over head, then we cut to the inside of the cab and see the truck driver change the radio station to a different song or a news program --changing the music between non-diegetic music for the audience, to full diegetic where the people in the movie can hear and affect the music themselves--seamlessly traversing the 4th wall in terms of background music.

Serious Sam music has the suspension-of-disbelief problem of having the background music magically alert the player when otherwise unseen trouble is coming.

I wish I had that in real life. When my boss calls me to his office it would be handy if "Sweet Dreams are Made of These" came on or the music from the beginning of "The Shining" started just to give me a heads-up about what I was walking into. When I met my ex girlfriend, the shower scene murder music from Psycho could have really helped me out.

For Serious Sam I consider it's just the player having a "bad feeling about this." He "feels" the enemy's presence and impending combat.  Works for me.

For my game, I don't mind if music helps the player artificially.  Your scanner is pretty much the range of the playable area, so the music isn't going to be that much of a surprise.  Maybe stealth ships that have a cloaking ability will turn off their music loop when they cloak... or not have one.

Wow it's really been almost 3 months?

For Captain Zero I've been doing some tech demo kinda stuff for multiplayer, and working on setting up orchestral music for it.  Here's the result of my first afternoon with Miroslav Philharmonik virtual instruments:

Scifi soundtrack attempt

I use this:                                                  

And this:

I love the orchestral sounds from Miroslav, and Abstractor is my favorite modeling vst synth.  When listening, picture an orchestra, a conductor, and among the brass and strings, picture a guy with a keyboard and lots of knobs and wires... some little round steampunky glasses wouldn't hurt either.

Not me.  Just some guy who comes up when you google image search "steampunk keyboard player"

Also: I'm no longer in Memphis, TN.  I'm in Glendale, CA!  I love it here.  For one thing it was 84 degrees today with a low of 57 vs 56 with a low of 37.    

Any how as I settle in more I'll get back to Captain Zeroing I promise.