Three unique illustrators on-the-up-and-coming spoon out some serious eye-candy in these web [and soon to be published] comics. Their site is still under partial construction, but these guys are still worth staying on the look-out for in the future.

Click for the action: Blackbird Sky.net Studios

Well, now that it’s here in America and we’ve all had a few days to play around with it, I’ve created my first map that is worthy of any Smash Bros. party. Download it or recreate it yourself!

BEATBOX ULTRA. [Or perhaps more appropriately had it fit, BeatDownBox Ultra.]

The goal of BeatBox Ultra was to design a stage perfectly suited for hard-hitting 300% Super Sudden Death matches. The stage is a massive open box with strategically placed openings which allow high-flying opponents to escape to their certain death. Ramps have also been strategically placed at the mouths of these openings to scoop up players that may fly into it, adding a slightly increased chance of ricocheting out. The two large blocks on the ground supply some minor refuge from other flying opponents, as well as helping you come to a stop more quickly if hit hard across horizontally. If one can manage it, a horizontal sliding platform is up near the top, giving a player the upper-hand in Stock matches.

Players spawn on the TOP of the box, meaning players must enter the box at their own will. Items will often spawn up there, so it’s best to arm yourself before entering. Players spawning on the top of the box eliminate possible cowards who sit on top rather than entering the box. If a player sits around on top, be assured some one will re-spawn up there to give them what’s coming to them. If they get knocked off of the top, forget about saving yourself, as there is no other way to enter the box other than the two topside openings. If you want to survive, your best bet is to enter the box!

BeatBox Ultra provides a well balanced stage that will really test the endurance of many players. How high can you get your damage percentage before finally being knocked out?

Hints and Tips for BeatBox Ultra:

1) This custom stage creates intense action with smaller chances of players being knocked out. For stock matches, 3 to 5 lives for a player can last as long as 10 to 12 lives on a normal map. You’re going to be taking a LOT of damage unless you’re really, really unlucky!
2) Lucario has a small advantage within this map, as he can cling to walls and scale them.
3) Play this map using Special Brawl rules. We recommend using 300% mode. Enabling 2.0 damage ratio is up to you if you want even more flying action. You can also turn on Fixed Camera mode to keep a better eye on things, though if enabled, we also recommend turning off Damage Guage in the More Rules menu to keep things unobstructed.
4) If desired, this map is also great under normal rules. Put your endurance to the test as you beat your opponent to astronomical damage percentages! If you want to take it a step further, set the game rules to a 1 Stock match with 0.5 damage ratio. Don’t be the first to get knocked out of the box!

DOWNLOAD BEATBOX ULTRA: [Click Here to Download]
Or, simply create it yourself using the image up above.

WATCH VIDEO OF BEATBOX ULTRA IN ACTION: [Click Here]

As any self-proclaimed Audiophile will tell you, Bose is the worst audio company in existence. They will say Bose is a company that makes grossly overpriced products where $20 counterparts could perform better. Bose haters plague the internet and phase through the woodwork to bark at any man daring to proclaim Bose having superior sound. To people not aware of the anti-Bose activists, it can be very confusing when interested buyers wish to make a Bose purchase. Reading reviews of Bose products will either lead you to believe that you are doing yourself a favor or that your friends and loved ones will ditch you the moment you place the order. There’s some annoying bullshit going on here with pro-Bose and anti-Bose consumers alike, and it doesn’t help people who are Bose-ignorant.

When buying a pair of speakers, especially controversial speakers like Bose, there are some simple things that you can do to shield yourself from the intense opinions of others and think for yourself. You may find alot to like or hate.

First, don’t care about what other people think. If a set of speakers make your ears, brain, and body happy when the sound hits you, why should you give a single care to an Audiophile telling you that what you’re listening to is actually complete crap? The last time you checked, these opinionated people don’t have your particular ears or hearing sense. [A classic example are experts who say Bose speakers are bad because they’re “Bright,” meaning the sound is rather intensely upfront. What does that matter to you? You could actually enjoy bright sound.] What I’m saying is — what an Audiophile may say sounds good may actually sound worse to you, and even more likely sound worse to your wallet. An optometrist doesn’t tell you “This lens strength is best for you because it’s what I like.” You pick the lenses you find are best for your eyes by comparing one strength to another. “Is A or B better?” He doesn’t have your eyes, so he can’t tell you. You even pick the glasses frames yourself because you know what’s best for your face. Your ears are no different. You know what’s best for them. In terms of Bose related purchases, anti-Bose crusaders will throw facts, propaganda, and numbers at you, most of which you wouldn’t understand or care to understand because the points being made are near irrelevant to anyone but themselves. However, with all this new negative information, how can’t you help but feel badly toward Bose now? By the same token, Bose lovers will praise their products with sensationalist claims, that they’re so good the cost virtually disappears. That sounds too good to be true, so what are you waiting for? —- No, for your best interest ignore both sides of that coin and approach a Bose product with complete neutral feelings. You are smart enough to formulate your own opinion.

Second, The price isn’t always right. The higher the price doesn’t ensure higher sound quality. Bose speakers are not the most expensive out there, nor are they the cheapest. If the price of a set of speakers doesn’t initially shock you, then it’s a safe bet they’re within your price range if you really become attached to them. Sometimes the price may actually make speakers sound better or worse for you, which is why cost should be considered until after you’ve given them a thorough listening. To an average listener like you or myself, most speaker systems will sound just great when you bring them home. Your ears will become used to the way they sound and you will be satisfied with your choice. Your senses neutralize abnormalities when exposed to them for a long enough period. Things like lingering smells, lighting temperatures, ambient white noise, and constant vibrations can become normal to us after a while and we won’t notice anything until after they’ve gone. Speakers work much in the same way that if you were to suddenly switch to a different set of speakers, the difference in sound would be quite jarring. Even if you dislike the sound at first, keep listening and chances are you’ll become used to them, even being able to pull out their sweeter strengths.

Third, Bring your own music or audio source to test. In-store music samples are often not the kind of music you listen to and are usually too unvaried to form an accurate opinion of their quality. Some music samples may also be equalized to enhance the speakers output, much in the way retailers put HDTV’s settings to make the picture appear intense and punchy in the store. How untrustworthy. Any audio showroom should have no problem letting you use your iPod or Notebook computer to test a speaker set, that way you know that what you’re listening to is familiar to you. You’ll be able to listen more closely to the finer details and differences between sets since you know what to be listening for.

Fourth, ignore marketing. You are buying SPEAKERS first and foremost. You are buying something that emits sound. You shouldn’t care about the small phrases and special proprietary technologies each brand individually offers. All of those specs are useless to you. All that you need to care about is the sound and whether or not they sound good to your own unique ears.

Now comes the part where, if you did, you become interested in a pair of Bose speakers. Did they sound good to you? Is the price fine for you? Do they meet your standards of build quality and are aesthetically pleasing and/or add to your home decor?

If you answered YES to all of the above, then all the power to you. This means you’ll be happy with your purchase no one has the right to tell you otherwise. […less they want to be assholes and get in your face about it. Then you’ll have to either tell them that it’s a decision you made and to just deal with it, or listen to the other persons opinion and let it change you.

However, if you answered NO to one of those questions, chances are buying the speakers [Bose or not,] will probably afflict you in some way and eventually cause you to return them.

Now for a personal account with Bose…

I’ve never bought a Bose product before up until a couple of weeks ago when I decided to test two Bose products for myself out of sheer curiosity for the brand. I had read countless online reviews from people rabidly condemning and gushing about the brand alike, so my initial knowledge about Bose remained unchanged since neither side was trustworthy. What better way to put my wonder to rest than to actually buy a system?

I came home with a pair of Bose Companion 3 (Series II) desktop speakers. They cost me a swift $250 from a local retailer. My first impression while setting the speakers up were quite positive. The build quality was good, using metal casings for the speakers and metal stands. The subwoofer, (what Bose calls an “Acoustimass” module,) was attractive and considerably small yet sturdy. Setup was as easy as plugging in a couple RCA jacks and I was ready to go for a first listen.

During my tests, I was actually pleased with their output. I wouldn’t describe them as the best speakers I’ve heard in my life, but they were certainly impressive considering their small aesthetic which took up such little room on my desk. I wasn’t sitting in my chair outright thinking “This is complete and utter shit, god damn I can’t stand this!” as Audiophiles would convince you of thinking. However, I did end up returning them, reluctantly. Remember my questions up above? While I said YES to them sounding good and looking good/being built well, my wallet just couldn’t agree with their price tag. I knew that I wouldn’t keep them to begin with because of their price — but for my own curiosity I couldn’t help but bring them home to test for about a week. [I couldn’t justify their price as I was looking at myself in the mirror thinking “You know, $250 can buy you those new glasses you need…”]

I will leave you with this last bit of information, however: If you find a pair of speakers you like, try/test a different pair a friend may own just for kicks. Sometimes testing a second pair can open you up to a completely new opinion about the first pair, and depending on your opinion of the second pair, can end up saving you some money. It can be fun to try a blind test of two or three speaker sets. Have a friend change between the speakers while you remain blindfolded [or preferred method of blinding] so you remain unbiased by not knowing which speaker set is currently being used. I did a blind test of the Bose Companion 3’s versus a set of Altec Lansing MX-502’s [a THX-certified system.] I ended up blindly choosing the Altec Lansings each time due to very minute differences that my ears just preferred better. Likewise, my room mate chose the Bose speakers every time on listening due to his preferences in sound. Try it yourself, you’d be surprised what you can find out about how different speakers can sound when tested in your own home. But as I also mentioned earlier, be sure to listen to them long enough to make sure your senses aren’t just playing games with you.

A rather minimalist wallpaper I created based on the signs at the entrance of each test chamber. Click the image for the full view, 1920×1200.

When used properly, flash can really do wonders for a website. Especially if, again used properly, the entire site is contained within Flash. In the case of the brand new box set put out by EMI records, they really decided to go over the top and show off the entire history of Pink Floyd in a stunning interactive flash program. I’d highly recommend experiencing this site in full screen, as you’d see the button in the top right corner. If anything has ever made me want to buy a product before, this site sure has done it. Listening to all those classics fly by really makes me want to fork up the cash to own the whole thing. Play with the site, enjoy the music, and love the spectrum spectral analyzer.

Click for the site: [click] created by [click]

Banpresto, a Bandai-Namco owned Japanese collectible company, or “Character Related Amusement” company as they describe themselves, has begun working closely with Nintendo to doll out a series of fun collectibles in honor of the achievements set by Super Mario. The first product in their lineup is a limited edition Famicom Controller which has been refitted to be a universal TV remote.

The remote is actually made incredibly well. All of the original details were kept. The faceplate is metal, the hole on the left side where the cord would normally come out, though the two LED’s on top were obviously added for the IR function. The package includes a set of 8-bit sprite stickers printed on a clear acetate. They look great, I’ve already made a little scene on the left palmrest of my MacBook Pro.

ThinkGeek is currently selling these at half price, though in limited supply.
Check em’ out here.

Thankfully the ThinkGeek site is also providing a simplified translation of the instructions that comes with the remote, because unless you can read Japanese, forget trying to make sense of them. Since the remote cycles through every code it knows until it finds the one that matches your TV (by turning it off,) this means it would be an amusing little gadget to bring a bar some night with a lot of flatscreens around…

Click for Banpresto: [click]
Banpresto’s interesting mission statement: [click]

I have to admit, I’m not a big reader — of books or comics. The only series I’ve enjoyed reading through were the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, the three volumes of Cowboy Bebop and the two of FLCL. [–But if we count art collection books, well, that’s a whole different story.] However, early last month I’ve found a new manga called “Yotsuba&!” [To be exact, the manga isn’t new in Japan. It’s been in syndication for years officially known as Yotsubato!. However the official translated editions have taken their time coming overseas.] The books caught my eye as I recalled seeing a package for a collectible action figure of the main character, Yotsuba Koiwai. I was interested to take a peek inside the first issue, and to my surprise, it’s created by Kiyohiko Azuma — the artist and mastermind behind Azumanga Daioh. Right off the bat I knew that Yotsuba would be something I would appreciate. Then and there, I bought all five available volues, the comic store clerk saying himself, “You know, I’ve been really meaning to read this…” I really shouldn’t have been so surprised that Yotsuba was by Kiyohiko Azuma. One look at the art style should have been a dead giveaway. I’ve been a fan of Azumanga Daioh for years, after all.

Cover of volume #6, Yotsuba and her offbeat Dad.

Yotsuba&! follows the Koiwai family, comprising of just Yotsuba and her father, who move to a new town somewhere in Japan. Mr. Koiwai unintentionally adopted the orphaned Yotsuba one day from a land somewhere overseas, saying “one day I just sort of found myself looking after her.” He acknowledges that Yotsuba can be an odd child, often not knowing or understanding things that an average 5 year old should. Though Mr. Koiwai can be a real oddball himself, he remains a good father to Yotsuba, who she looks up to as a primary role model. The Koiwai’s are soon discovered by the neighbors, the Ayase family, through Yotsuba’s energetic arrival. From then, Yotsuba spends a lot of time at the Ayase household, and each family member has their own stance with Yotsuba. Asagi, the eldest daughter and a university student, loves to pick on people, which makes her an adversary for many of Yotsbua’s antics. Fuka, a 16 year old high school student, often becomes unintentionally entangled in Yotsuba’s activities. She tries her best to maintain a positive impression on the Koiwai’s, though she’s frequently picked on by them. Ena, a few years older than Yotsuba and her most frequent playmate, usually ends up lying to Yotsuba to protect her hopes and feelings. These usually end up coming back to grief her later. Mrs. Ayase finds Yotsuba’s presence a delight, and appears to have no issue with a soon developed habit of being called “Mom” by her. Mr. Koiwai himself becomes concerned about the Ayase family constantly having to put up with Yotsuba and helping her out as much as they do. In exchange, Mr. Koiwai usually feels the need to invite the daughters on trips special events. Each anecdotal chapter of Yotsuba&! revolves around these interactions between the two households and the town they live in. [Explanation: the title “Yotsuba&!” is a tie in with the way chapter names are written, telling what the primary subject matter will be. For example, some titles are: Yotsuba & Moving In, Yotsuba & Challenges, Yotsuba & Revenge.]

Yotsuba, Asagi, and Fuka

Ever since reading the mangas, I’ve been strangely addicted to the simple “slice-of-life” story telling that Yotsuba&! offers. Reading the mangas just make you feel damn good. Not to mention their blunt, somewhat dry humor is as appealing as Yotsuba is adorable. The tagline of the manga, “enjoy everything,” really just kind of makes you miss the old days of being a kid yourself — experiencing new things daily and just being carefree. If a Yotsuba like this green-haired, quad-pig-tailed, adorably clueless one exists…. I want one!!

The actual quality of the artwork within Yotsuba&! is really a showcase for the talent of Azuma himself. Azumanga Daioh was kept very simple in both the manga and the animation. Most of the backgrounds were reduced to simple gradients or shallow-depth scenes. This wasn’t a bad thing for Azumanga, it was originally drawn in four-panel manga, after all. Since each panel was the same size and rather small, they really only had enough room for a couple characters and speech bubbles, thus backgrounds weren’t very important in Azumanga. However, Yotsuba&! is a whole different story. The backgrounds are meticulously drawn panel to panel with fine details and shading. You get a feeling that what you’re reading is real, with real scale and weight. Some of my friends have actually commented “Oh, I thought those pictures were photos from afar” to the illlustrations. Each panels composition and angle is taken into great consideration — Azuma almost makes it look easy. It’s actually done so well, you’re able to playback what you read in your mind as though it were really an anime.

Yotsuba excited for a long-awaited trip to the beach.

Unlike Azumanga Daioh, Yotsuba is not an anime, and currently has no plans to be animated (so Azuma says. In a couple years, I have reasons to believe otherwise.) Though we cannot see Yotsuba and her adventures animated, Azuma was kind enough to give us something else: music. We can hear Yotsuba’s movement representationally through meoldy, thoughtfully performed by the Kurikorder Pops Orchestra. (Yes, the same orchestra who did the music for Azumanga Daioh — hooray for continuity!)

Yotsuba plays the recorder.

The idea of making a soundtrack for a manga series sounds gimmicky at best, but don’t let the idea fool you — the soundtracks are actually just as significant stand-alone as the actual mangas themselves. Azuma explained at their release that the soundtracks are NOT a literal play-by-play of the manga that you listen to as you read. Referred to as “image albums,” the music is designed to elicit mental images of events described by the titles. The end result is an interesting listening experience that adds significance to Yotsuba and her family and friends.

The first album, simply [and cleverly] named “Yotsuba&♪,” follows Yotsuba throughout the course of a typical summer day. 33 tracks follow her from dawn, just waking up, to dusk, going to bed. The music is full of a couple reoccurring themes, usually involving a string ensemble, a piano, a flute, a xylophone, and Japan’s signature childhood instrument: the recorder. It sounds very appropriate for music reminiscent of summer. The simplicity of the tracks, just like the simplicity of the manga, just make you feel good and I find actually help my concentration when doing things around the apartment. The expertise of the Kuricorder Pops Orchestra also help because no matter how simple the music is, none of it sucks. The orchestra has some insanely professional recording equipment. The tracks are among the most clean and noise-less recordings I’ve ever heard done in a studio. Props to them for not skimping.

Interesting highlights of Yotsuba&♪:
Track 1 “Dawn” - Contains an absolutely beautiful string melody as an opener. It gave me a good chill down my spine the first time.
Track 13 - “Drawing Together” - The attitude of this track is just great, love the electric piano and pizzicato strings.
Track 17 - “Making Lunch” - Try to guess what this track is supposed to be of!
Track 18 - “Eating Lunch” - Contains possibly the most standard rendition of the Yotsuba theme.
Track 19 - “Nap” - Delicately performed. This song shows that a recorder can be a wonderful instrument.
Track 22 - “Yotsuba’s Small-Big Adventure” - Perhaps the most mentally engaging song of the album, at 3:30, there’s an amazing flute and recorder solo, joined in by drums.
Track 33 - “See you tomorrow” - Fans of Azumanga would appreciate this track. It sounds most like the music of Azumanga Daioh. Very nostalgic.

[Download YOTSUBA&♪ - 57MB]
(Album is properly tagged. The first track, “Dawn & Album Artwork,” contains the entire booklet originally included with the album.)

Just like the summer album, the winter album focuses on following Yotsuba through daily activities. However, unlike the summer album, it does not follow her through a single day. Through a series of fully orchestrated suites it illustrates the entire season. Spanning from when winter arrives, to christmas, to new years, spring cleaning, and spring arriving. The orchestration of the winter album consists of more or less the same instruments, only playing to a new set of themes that are more winter appropriate. Most tracks have a more full sound to them, such as the first few tracks which rival “Yotsuba’s Small-Big Adventure” already in their mental imagery. I find this album more interesting to listen to during these months thanks to its unique sound which still makes you think “winter.” Western wintry music always finds the need to remix the same Christmas songs over and over and over until you become physically ill from the repetition. Other countries who don’t focus so heavily on Christmas as much as we do sure tend to come up with better music for the colder months. I’m sure if you give it a listen you’ll agree as well.

[Download YOTSUBA&♪ Musical Suite (General Winter) - 67MB]
(Album is properly tagged.)

Miura, (Ena’s friend,) Ena, and Yotsuba performing morning calisthenics.

If you haven’t checked out Yotsuba yet, you’re probably going to want to. It’s a real treat.

Enjoy everything!

After playing Heavenly Sword, I decided to do a little portrait of that zany little girl, Kai. Click the image for a full-view.
Corel Painter X

Rumors have been flying about recently that the downloadable content for Beautiful Katamari on the 360 is a ripoff. [Reported by the *cough* reliable Destructoid.com. Really if you know my feelings on them, Destructoid is the equivalent of Fox News for gaming.]

I think they jumped the gun on assuming what this “Rip-Off” content is. On the Xbox Live Marketplace, there are four levels available for download costing 200MS-Points each. Destructoid reports that these downloads are only about 400KB’s each in filesize. Their logic is that no level in a game could ever be that small, and the files are merely authentication codes to access maps already written on the disc. Under normal circumstances, that would be a lame method of business. But, when applying realistic logic to the problem… Consider this…

The maps you’re downloading off of the Marketplace actually ARE new maps. They contain no new geometry or sounds. Katamari is built using a componential method where everything — even the ground you’re rolling on — can eventually be rolled up as an object. Due to that, new maps are merely nothing but a file of coordinate instructions listing what objects must exist there. 400KB for an authentication code is insanely huge — this blog entry isn’t even 400KB even if there were an image posted in it. A new map containing nothing but object placement instructions can in fact be an entirely new level to roll around in. Destructoid, who obviously jumps the gun by not understanding how games work, never thought of this possibility.

And really, it’s without a doubt the real truth. So the downloads aren’t a ripoff — just lame that Namco didn’t include them in the first place. But hey, the game is $20 cheaper than normal Xbox 360 games, so quit your complaining. They could’ve priced it for $59.99 PLUS still want you to buy the extra levels, you know. Be thankful for that much. Development costs are alot these days. Namco of course wants to make a greater profit off of a big-name game like Katamari, a game which they thoughtfully priced at $40. [We Love Katamari was $30, if you remember, and the original was $20. I think Namco is right with that $40 price point, it probably SHOULD have been higher.] It only makes sense that they would offer a few additional levels for download.