Short Story - In Caecitas Regula

The following is a short story I wrote for school. Enjoy.

The wind picked up, blowing the fine dust into Darby’s face yet again. Pulling his tattered scarf up over his nose and raising an arm to shield his eyes from the gale, Darby cursed and clutched the poorly stitched wound in his side. Oh, he was going to relish punishing the man who gave him that. Stumbling over a rock in his blind stagger, he fell. Inhaling the dry, somewhat crunchy ground, Darby thought back to three days prior. He had given food to a stranger, a seat at his campfire. But in the midst of Darby showing off his latest scavenged find among the smoke and the sweet smell of barbequed cactus wren, the man who had introduced himself as Daniel Robbins had suddenly lashed out. When Darby came to, the fire had been doused, His possessions had been stolen, and he had an oozing gash in his torso. He had trusted the wrong person, and now Darby had nothing but a single goal: Exact his revenge on Daniel Robbins.

As he followed the fading footsteps in the sand – more than one set, it appeared Robbins had a gang of thieves- Darby plunged a hand into his pocket and felt around, taking inventory as he searched for something to smoke; a ragged handkerchief, a few empty shell casings, and some lint. Nothing to sate a nicotine addiction, though. Bastards had stolen his cigarettes too.

            Eventually, the front gate of his destination came into view- the rusted gates of Somariah, a trading hub for the region. As Darby approached the settlement, he reflexively ducked as the glint of a sniper’s scope from the town hit his eyes. When no shot came, he slowly came back to his feet and continued towards the gate, where three guards were stationed. One, a middle-aged man with a shaved head and old-world military fatigues with their fair share of stains, cradled an assault rifle while running a hand through his thick beard as his companion, a sandy-haired twig of similar age, rubbed a cloth over the back lens of his weapon. The final guard, barely seventeen, if that, raised a hand in a friendly gesture.

            “Hey! Come on over!” A smile cracked on the boy’s face as Darby approached. “Welcome to Somariah. We just gotta fill in some paperwork before we can let yeh in. What’s your name and business, Ossan?” Ignoring the strange form of address – settlements of this size often made up or borrowed words from other languages for their own dialects – Darby approached the teen.

            “Darby Freeman. I’m looking for someone.”

            “Oh yeah?” The boy lowered his pencil. “Anyone in here, we’d know of. They got a name?”

            “Daniel Robbins.” The young guard poured over his ledger, eyebrows furrowed.

            “Hmm… Robbins…Robbins…” The boys eyes brightened. “Here he is! Yeah, he came in yesterday. Hasn’t left yet. If he does, I’ll let ‘im know you were looking for him, Ossan.”

            “Actually, I’m hoping to surprise him.” Darby said truthfully as the man with the assault rifle pounded rhythmically on the gate. An eye-level slot slid open and yet another guard peered out before closing the slot and swinging the gate open. “I don’t suppose you’d have where he is right now in that book, would you?” The sand-haired sniper turned and piped up.

            “Oyabun might know.” His gaze shifted from Darby to the younger man. “Nasser, why don’t you go in with him? We can handle things out here.”

            “Okay, Wells.” Nasser motioned for Darby to follow him. “Come on, Ossan. We’ll find your friend.”

The inside of Somariah was cramped and loud. Travelers wove around each other as vendors hawked their wares at the top of their lungs. A mixed smell of cooking food, petroleum, and humanity washed over Darby as he was caught up in the oppressive crowd.

            “So, who’s this Oyabun guy?” He asked over the bedlam.

            “I guess you’d call him the mayor, or the sheriff or something.” Nasser yelled back. “Keeps the order around here, knows everything that goes on. If I give him a description, he’ll be able to find this friend of yours.” An unshaven man in a stocking cap bumped into Darby, biting back his apology as his eyes widened. For a moment the two men stared at each other, the stranger in shock, Darby in confusion. Muttering a half apology and something about thinking Darby was someone else, the man disappeared back into the crowd.

            “What was that about?” Darby asked, turning slightly to allow an older woman more room to pass.

            “No clue, Ossan. We get all kinds here. Anyway, so what’s this Robbins guy look like?”

            “About thirty, 5’10 with jet black hair and a triangular scar on his cheek.” Darby recalled, reaching into his pocket again for a cigarette that wasn’t there.

            “Should be enough for Oyabun to find ‘im. Wait here, Ossan. I’ll go get him.” With a grin, Nasser disappeared into a building. Darby sighed and leaned against the wall, staring at a stand selling fried rats and inhaling the meaty scent. Suddenly, two men leaned against the wall as well, one on either side of him. Turning to face one of them, Darby stopped as another pair in the crowd caught his eye. The man in the stocking cap was pointing straight at him, and next to him was none other than Daniel Robbins. Leaping towards Robbins, Darby was caught by the two thugs on the wall.

            “Well, well…well.” Robbins stalked towards Darby. “And here I thought I had killed you dead.”

            “Looks like you’re not too handy with that knife of yours.” Darby snarled.

            “I assume you’re here to take back the device?” Robbins pulled a box from his jacket, a strange-looking machine with gears inside stamped with letters.

            “That thing? Don’t even know what it does. Thought maybe a merchant might. I followed you here,” Darby growled, “because you knifed me. I assume these bastards are your little helpers?” One of the thugs holding him in place scowled and fingered his belt knife unconsciously.

            “They are. Helped me carry off your things, in fact.” Robbins grimaced. “I suppose I have to finish what I started, though, don’t I?” He replaced the device in his jacket and whipped out a sawed-off automatic. Darby elbowed one of his captors in the ribs, taking his belt knife and turning the thug between his body and Robbins in time to shield himself from a burst of gunfire. He stabbed the other thug in the gut, opening his own wound from the exertion as bystanders scattered with screams and cries for the town watch. The underling in the stocking cap pulled a knife and charged, only to be pettily disarmed with a quick twist on Darby’s part. Desperately, Darby threw his knife at Robbins as the other man launched another volley of bullets. The knife caught Robbins in the throat, as the stream of lead from his machine gun bolted into Darby’s chest. Both men collapsed.

            Warm, metallic-smelling blood leaked from Darby’s body onto the street. He made a shuddering gasp and coughed. Everything had happened so suddenly, so quickly. He had hoped to take his time in killing the bastards, hoped to get the drop on Robbins, not the other way around. The receding back of Robbins’ third thug was the only movement he could see, and the now distant screams of the townspeople seemed…too distant. Like they were happening in another world. And Darby realized they were, because he wasn’t in the same one anymore. Because he was dying. He had wanted only a single thing, to kill Daniel Robbins, and he had gotten it. He should have wished for something more worthwhile. Like one last goddamn smoke. Nasser was beside him now, shaking him, from the looks of it. But not the feel. Calling out to him, yelling something that couldn’t quite reach his ears. And the colour was draining from the world. Draining. And darkening. Fading to black until there was just one last thought left.

            Was revenge… really worth my life?

Black Mesa (Source) Hazard Course! / An update at last!

Hello to my loyal reading audience (comprised of approximately 1.3 people!)
I apologize for the lack of content lately, there hasn't been much of note going on for me besides development.

So I'm gonna take a moment to talk about that.

See, I'm one of the level designers for the Black Mesa Hazard Course, a community-made addon for Black Mesa recreating the original Half-Life's Hazard Course training maps. It's going pretty well, and we have every position filled except that of a dedicated texture artist (If you have any aptitude with making textures for the Source engine, feel free to apply! We don't bite too much!) Anyway, when we're done, it'll be free of charge to download, just like the mod it's made for.

Check it out. (Just don't forget that we're not part of the official Black Mesa team.)

Writing - The Window

Today in class I wrote this short piece. We were assigned to look at a picture of a window and write a page visualizing the person inside. This is what I came up with.

Inside the run-down house, well, more of a barn, really, there resided a man. Unshaven and poorly groomed, well, who has time to shave or comb, especially in a cracked mirror? Micheal ran gloved fingers over his check, scratching at the growth of two weeks. Moving closer to peer out a window, glass crunched beneath his boots, and the outburst of dust caused by the slight air currents he made elicited a sneeze. Placing his hand on peeling wallpaper and scouring the countryside for signs of movement, Micheal made a mental note to re-check the shed for anything that might be useful. Turning to disinterestedly inspect the faded floral pattern beneath his palm, Micheal thought back to the last raid. He had barely made it away from that lighthouse. If the dropships came to this hideaway, it was curtains for him. Striding over creaking floorboards to the kitchen counter, he picked up his submachine gun and removed the magazine. Pouring out the rounds onto the faux marble, he replaced them, counting. Twenty-eight. Twenty-eight round out of forty-five, and no reserve clips. If he couldn’t find so much as a quart of gas in the shed, he wouldn’t even have anything to improvise with. Inhaling the musty air, Micheal sighed, wishing he had never heard there was a rebellion, let alone joining it. Oh well, too late to turn back now. In all likelihood he would have had combat thrust upon him soon enough.

Review: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie

(Parts 1 and 2)

So here we have it, the premier JeffMIND review. And, I should warn, perhaps the best you'll ever see.
For those of you not in the know, Madoka Magica is a very successful 1-season anime series over in Japan. It has spawned a manga adaptation, manga spinoffs, a multitude of merchandise, and legions of loyal fans the world over. When I heard it was coming to nearby Kingston, I knew I had to go see them. The first two of three movies (the third being entirely new content and currently in production) are a retelling, or rather, writer's cut, of the 12-episode series. There's no learning curve for those who haven't seen the series, those who have and enjoyed it will enjoy seeing it again, and those who didn't enjoy it...well, what the hell are you looking at this review for, anyway?

Now, a quick concept summary for the first group. (Quick note: Though the film is Japanese language, I am going to use the English naming method for characters. Given name, Family name, rather than the other way around)

    Madoka Kaname is an average girl. She has a loving family, a great school, and her best friend Sayaka has a...somewhat undetermined sexuality. But everything changes when a new student transfers into her class. (Disclaimer: None of the stuff I listed changes.) Homura Akemi seems on the surface to be nearly perfect; She's intelligent, athletic, and beautiful. And Madoka dreamt about her the night prior. But when the mysterious Homura asks Nurse's aide Madoka to take her to the infirmary, she gives a warning; If you value your life, your family and your friends, don't even think about becoming someone you're not. After school, Madoka and Sayaka head to the mall to buy some music, only for Madoka to be called for help by a mysterious voice. The voice belongs to a creature named Kyubey, who is being hunted by none other than the new transfer student Homura! After some quick thinking on Sayaka's part, the three made their escape, only to be attacked by an even stranger creature. Just when all seems lost, an upperclasswoman, Mami Tomoe, saves them, revealing herself to be a Magical Girl who fights Witches like the one that just attacked them. Then Kyubey drops an even bigger bombshell; He wants Madoka and Sayaka to become Magical Girls as well!

Everything about these movies, I loved. The animation was crisp yet fluid, the backgrounds were beautifully painted, and the music was a feast for the ears, ranging from the harmonious main theme, Luminous by J-Pop duo ClariS, to the brand new, hard rock track used when Sayaka and Kyòko Sakura first cross weapons. Speaking of which, the battle scenes are simply epic. From Mami's gun-fu followed by teatime, to Kyòko's red-hot spearplay, and especially Homura's explosive combat style, each fight is powerful enough to knock anyone at the edge of their seat into the back cushions. Despite the high quality of everything else, though, the voice acting is where Madoka Magica has always shined, and if anything, it got better for the movies. The range of emotions in Madoka is massive, and each one is so deep and well done that you can't help but feel everything the girls do. Happiness, Sorrow, Rage, all fill your ears without a single doubt in your mind that they're real. The voice actresses are all to be highly commended for their work, especially Chiwa Saito (Homura) and Ai Nonaka (Kyòko), who had the highest amount of passion-filled lines and definitely delivered. Seriously, the dialogue in these films had me crying manly tears of sorrow and joy throughout all the emotional scenes, something western media never seems to be able to do for me.
If you're getting the feeling that I'm a massive fan of Madoka Magica, well, you'd be right, but anime fans everywhere should see these movies nonetheless, and trust me, they are truly deserving of the scores I'm about to hand out.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie Part 1: The Beginning Story - 10/10 Stars
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie Part 2: The Eternal Story - 10/10 Stars

And for Kami's sake, if you ever get an offer to become a magical girl, ask for a paper copy of the contract and READ THE FINE PRINT!

SimCity developers are EA-ting their words

If you've been following gaming news recently, you're likely aware of the controversy surrounding the recent release of SimCity. It, uh, seems that the game is fundamentally broken in many ways. There's the overloaded servers that have only gotten marginally better since launch, always-on DRM and "server-side calculations" that prevent offline mode from being possible, broken AI that doesn't live up to the hype, and lots of minor things missing from the game that previous installations of the series had, like being able to choose where to put highway on-ramps and large city sizes.

Well, now, there's more than this all that. Modders recently found that offline mode is in fact possible, and can be enabled, albeit without the ability to save, by commenting out an entire two lines of code. Those server-side calculations? Cut, if they ever existed at all. They did remove cheetah speed (the fastest one) to "reduce server load", but I doubt that really had anything to do with it. The only thing the servers are needed for is multiplayer, and saving the game to the cloud. (the reason we can't currently do so with a modded offline game) EA claimed that to make offline mode work would take a lot of engineering. Wow, two lines of code and a patch to enable local saves. That sure is a lot of work.

Now on to the AI. EA claimed that SimCity would be completely agent-driven, with each city being populated by simulated citizens living in specific homes, going to specific jobs and stores, creating all the problems a city can run into dynamically and realistically. Closer inspection to the game shows the AI isn't all that smart, and a look at the code shows the population numbers get inflated or "fudged" (EA's term) as the city grows. Now, as a developer, I know this sort of thing happens all the time. You get planning all these neat features, get a proof of concept working that shows what it'll look like in action, then end up being unable to deliver on those hopes and the promises that come with them. (Remember the street battle from the HL2 E3 demonstrations? "None of this is scripted." ...Turns out it was.) There's nothing wrong with lofty goals, but you have to remember to say it's a planned feature, rather than a definite one, or at the very least say "Turns out we couldn't get it to work, so that's no longer in there."

As for the missing features, well, there's no explanation for any of that, except the stuff they removed to "reduce server load". What gives, guys?

Anyway, now that that summary is out of the way, here's the NEW stuff: Not only has EA been proven to have lied to us multiple times, they're giving away free copies of older games to players who pre-ordered SimCity and bought it on launch day as a way of saying "We're sorry to screwed up." CEO John Riccitiello has just stepped down, citing poor financial returns in the last few quarters. Now if only they'd give us a damn offline mode and fix the missing stuff, SimCity would actually be worth buying.

Hello World!

"Oh look, there's a blog on the lawn!" *ahem* 
Sorry, I've had Gatsby on my mind lately. Anyway, hello and welcome to the Black Mesa Hazard Cour-
Wait, no, that's wrong too.

So, a little about myself before I get to the meat and potatoes of this... My name is Jeff. I like to mod. Game modding, I mean. Game development is my primary passion, what I spend the most time working on at home. I also do a bit of writing, too. That's primarily what this will be about. My thoughts on recent events in gaming, processes and development articles, and some writings. Probably mostly those, actually, since Facebook's note system kuso'd out on me and I can't share anything with my real-world friends that way anymore.
There'll be a bit of miscellaneous stuff, too, I am nothing if not off topic. Rants about politics and social interactions, stuff about Anime and TV, whatever I feel like at the time.

Hopefully it will all be interesting to someone. And if not, well, no matter. Sometimes I just need to get stuff out of my head.

So Welcome. Welcome to my blog. It's safer here.