kiwilove's Blog

To add to my first proper entry.

 

It is very simple to recognise the way forward - that is to be fair. This is what everybody else wants - equality. To acknowledge that everyone is equal to one another - to be fair with one another.

 

This implies that - there is no such thing as royalty - that is an illusion. They (royalty) are just as human as you and I. So why should they be treated any differently? The same with those of a supposedly lower class? There is none - class divisions are not 'real' at all, but self imposed.

 

What this means also - is that religious stories are wrong - where they say - so and so - ascended into heaven, and lives at the right hand of God, etc etc. This is very much a distorted story and bears no resemblance to what actually happened.

Religions have no justification for telling those kind of stories - they have no basis in reality.

An actual account of what really happened, would be another story altogether.

 

Money / ownership etc are false as such. And it is truly unfair when a small % of the population somehow reaps all the benefits - while others have to do without.

 

The truth is short, simple and to the point. There is no profit in telling the truth - which is something what most people know already - if only they pay attention to their own commonsense - their heart and feelings - what they tell them.

Religious belief overrides this - whereby a believer now believes in what he has been taught - via this or that so-called ancient etc text. And this text comes before anything else. That believers no more pay attention to what their own sense of judgement, conscience, heart, feelings, etc tell them.

It may seem a bit odd that I have an anti-violence stance - especially when I played such games as Streetfighter II, the Tekken games etc. While I did play the Doom games - I did not especially enjoy first person shooter, after first person shooter games - and I think the videogaming world has to move away from such games - so as not to encourage players towards say using such weapons in real life / reality.

Spacey shooters are not quite in the same vein - because it's like the fighter planes in WW2 scenario - ie. man in a machine, against man? in a machine, though it could be against droids or such like devices.

 

I have been a so-called fan of Kung Fu movies - and they are only watchable when you have empathy with the central character(s). If you don't like them or he/she - the whole movie becomes unwatchable - guess that's why I don't like von damme movies...

 

Being a deep thinker - it's actually very straight forward how world peace can be obtained - and it is truly obtainable. It took Russia only about 4 years to become a nuclear power - which was only possible via it's espionage network - to exactly copy the American nuclear weapon, by stealing it's design/etc. They even copied it's delivery plane because they had no such delivery mechanism of their own.

That if countries are so determined to enter the nuclear weapons club - then it is also possible to obtain world peace and stability - if they were as so determined. Peace would only be possible through being truthful and honest (ie. fair) with one another. This is possible through changing the mindset of the world - to acknowledge the faults of the current political systems - and also world religions - their faults too. Because they are the ones standing in the way of world peace. Democracy is not a fair and just political system, given the way it is used today - the same with religions.

The world problems need to be faced head on, and admitted to - so that a change in a positive direction can start happening - or else they'll only go on from bad to worse - as time goes by.

The truth is readily accessible to anyone - who simply pays attention to what their heart, feelings and mind say to them. To trust in their conscience and their own thinking processes.

 

OK something specific about the graphics done for GTIABlast!/AtariBLAST!

While it uses the original Atari 8-bit hardware which must date back to around 1978? or perhaps more specifically 1979 - though the Atari 400/800 probably were available in numbers from about 1980/1981?

 

I have come to the conclusion that the sort of graphics I am doing now - probably were not possible back in the mid to late 1980s' when I was working on Laser Hawk / Hawkquest - because I had no easy to use editor back in those days.

To design these graphics I am using Paul Lay's graphic editor (written in a flash-like environment, it's not flash but it's cheaper version of it...) which I am using on a PC laptop.

There were no such editors back in those days - and if there was one written for it, it would be very basic with a definite lack of features for it.

While something like Envision is available - that works for other modes - I did find it too hard to use (for a different game altogether) - and I couldn't get comfortable with that particular program.

Also there's the time and effort required to produce these current graphics - and for me, not working to a very tight timeline - is easier for me.

 

Of course, the arrival of 16-bit computers spelt the end of anything big and complex for the A8 hardware. So even if the idea of possibly working on such an GB/AB! project back in the 80s' would seem not to be a good idea then - because it would not have been financially successful anyway...

 

That this project only took off at this late time - because Paul and I were ready to try taking it on - and Paul especially had in mind - various elements which do work in very well with each other. Namely through seeing Crownland running, and what they did with that. The more elements Paul got working - the better and better this project looked. Have players noticed and appreciated all the little touches present? I'm sure the programmers have....

 

Visually I wanted to try out different things also - there is one overall theme - which I won't mention, that only pops up occasionally here and there. I would like to see this being used more and more but it is hard to find things it can work with.

 

It was important to reuse graphics from Hawkquest - not only because it gave me something already done (as I find starting from scatch difficult indeed) that is readily put on screen again - but also the opportunity to tweak/update them - which is actually a nice thing to do. Few people would be presented with the opportunity of doing this - like some kind of time travel phenomenon? Because this is an entirely different game - some tweaking is necessary of course.

 

I may as well mention - if Andrew Bradfield would have worked again on the Atari 800 if he could? If he was given this chance to? Andrew did enjoy doing the programming for Laser Hawk and Hawkquest - the later being a massive effort. Sadly he passed away in 2001 at an early age due to leukemenia.

By that time he was not doing any more programming - although he did learn 68000 assembler language programming and of the intrincies of the Amiga hardware (He did not go Atari ST) - though did not complete any game for it - he did change back into being a videogames player being a fan of looking glass videogames. He did get into the present day shooter games - as well as the various 3D environment videogames.

I really do not know if he would have gone back into Atari 800 programming - some twenty-plus years later... because he was very much into his fast cars driving (ie. in real life). I did not see him as much as I use to - and so I cannot guess if he would of or would not have gone back into 6502 assembler programming or not? He did go off the arcade videogames some time back... and preferred the strategy/3D games more and more.

There is no doubt that this is an ego-centric world with it's likewise mindset. It's all "Me, Me, and more Me..." focused.

 

It is understandable to some extent - as there is no doubt - you are in a physical body, and that body needs taking care of.

But any person of any intelligence (or awareness) whatsoever - must also understand the connectiveness of everything.

That you are part of a community - and owe a great deal to it.

 

In a 'normal' world - you are the product of your parents, and if you are missing parents - then your elders. And in an honest and just world, you have values imparted onto you - from your community. That you have the indecency to get along with others - that you are sociable and caring - and probably 95% of the population are like this. Then there's the odd 5% - who are anti-social, who tends toward the criminal - who truly look after themselves - without caring for others.... You could call them the preyers within our society who prey upon others. And I would put amongst these - the 'pretenders' also - those who act like they are 'good' whereas in fact this is a pretense, whereby it is merely a poker face they have on - and the majority of people do not recognise this at all. So even believe themselves - fooling themselves (the politicians and the religious can fall into this group).

 

It is easy to see how some people become misaligned - like these muslim terrorists and so forth - only they do not realise they are all part of a mass manipulation also - and they can be correct on how distorted the modern western society really is. But they fail to recognise that their own view is just as distorted and slanted sideways too.

 

The so-called truth or reality - is more easily seen from a third person, neutral viewpoint - who is able to look at both sides (and more) of a fence - and simply look at the information that is available. The information itself - tells a story.

 

There is the use of circular logic - that leads people astray. All world religions use it - they each have a core belief system - which they say is their belief or faith - but believers/followers can never question it. They have to accept it implicitly - without question or doubt. Any logically thinking person knows - that everything must be up for question and inquiry - just like in mechanics (and also everything else) every piece must be scrutinised and inspected very carefully - just like with physical objects which can be taken apart - in order to understand how does it work? And then re-assembled again - the same can be said is necessary for ideas and beliefs, etc etc. And what is important is to be able to cross reference - as a means of verification, that said information is then said to be valid. That is why history itself serves an important part in education.

History serves as a lesson of past mistakes - as well as past solutions/answers as well... Just like writing serves as documentation/record/evidence/reference material - accurate recorded history is vitally important to us all.

 

Religions generally fail to provide such evidence/history - because 'truth' is not their ultimate purpose. They serve another master so to speak - and that is their own destiny - their own ends - which is usually the promotion (ie. self promotion) of their belief system first and foremost. And they will pretend this is the truth - as such.

The flaws of their thinking/logic/etc are in the inconsistencies that come up - usually the many holes (and questions) that come up - after any brief summary of what they believe in....

 

The inconsistencies are many and varied. Such as....

The story they tell is unbelievable. Such as God speaking - using English (or the language of that time...) as such - that it is

said and heard clearly - and somehow this is 'recorded' or written down - and is then said to be accurate.

That God appeared and said such words...

That this is the same God - that you can pray to - and get assistance/help from.

 

Occam's razor comes to mind - which says - that a simpler explanation is usually the more likely to have happened. Rather than a long and complicated story - none of which makes any sense.

Logically - none of the above makes any sense at all. And if you do accept the above as being valid - you are asked to use circular logic - in which there is basic story you are told to accept without question nor doubt - which gets repeated to you so many times - that by repetition, that is how you accept it.

People who do use their logic in their everyday lives - who accept the above - I'd guess, must compartise their thinking - in which they make an exception to their religious thinking - in which they simply do not engage their normal logical thinking to their religious thinking - because this is the only way to deal with it.

 

However truthseekers as such ... know full well they simply cannot do this at all. That everything must simply fall under the sledgehammer of truth (and it is a sledgehammer as such...) - and that anything truthful at all, simply surivives such minute inquiry and dissection (and also total destruction) - because truth simply is.... without having to be protected or walked gingerly around... etc.

That through discussion with others (also within yourself with your own thinking/consciousness/conscience, etc etc) the truth is plainly revealed.

 

It must be said - that Buddhism just about fosters the same kind of erroneous thinking too - as other religions. While I can agree that reincarnation is actually a pretty good idea/system to believe in. However - karma can be said to be not valid at all. Namely because it'll involve some kind of very detailed inventory/record system - of tallies and adjustment - that simply cannot be present at all. It's easier to believe that nothing is carried over from a past life - and that a completely new ego/personality etc is created with each new life you have.

Also escape from the cycle of reincarnation - is not possible, but is simply the process which goes on and on...

 

The same can be said of a 'heaven'. That said 'heaven' doesn't exist at all. But instead - there is a great beyond - where everybody does go to - but it is simply a sleep or inactive state - between lives.

 

The truth is more often than not - short, sharp and to the point. And very often, not what we like to hear or accept at all. But you can work out what is more likely to be true, because you have more information available to you, than most people realise.

 

We know that death is a state we all end up with - that death is part and parcel of life itself. If you accept reincarnation as being very likely - then you also accept that you have been through 'death' many many times already. And that it is something not to be feared at all. That it is a natural state - that birth is our entry here, and death merely our exit.

 

Anyway - this is food for thought.

I will say that I am available to work on other Atari 8-bit projects - do the graphics designs for - should anyone want my input on that front?

Though I have to say - that probably certain kinds of games interest me - and other types may not?

 

I can't say that I can be of great help - to assist some one else - as it will be a case of having a go and see if we can work together or not?

I need a suitable graphic tool(s) to work with - and I may be too spoiled by using the ones I have been using for the last ones I've worked on?

 

I do think that programmers who don't have the artistic ability in design - ought to get someone one board who's keen to spend the time necessary to get the designs looking nice for that project - and it's not just designs as such that is needed - but animation, animation, animation.

Having worked on animations for various games lately - I'll say that animations are really necessary to enhance the look of the game - and to have more animations - so much the better.

 

You have only to take note of what is happening on screen in AtariBlast! to start noticing how much animation is going on here? Surely other games and other game types can do this as well?