Below are the 7 most recent journal entries recorded in mattclem's LiveJournal:

Friday, August 4th, 2006
12:48 am	... It's still addictive. (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 13th, 2005
4:22 pm	I ATEN'T DEAD... ...but blimey, World of Warcraft is horribly addictive. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 6th, 2005
2:24 am	Lies, damn lies, and statistics Straw poll time. And, for that matter, extreme vagueness time: I've been lying to someone for a little over half-a-year now to avoid hurting their feelings; I have problems with something they're doing (and badly want to do), but when asked directly, I've lied and said that it's fine. It's worth pointing out that the problems I'm having are entirely selfish in nature, one of the reasons I've kept on lying. The problem is that the stress of keeping this lie intact is really starting to eat away at me; the fact that these problems are selfish doesn't detract from the fact that they bother me a *lot*. I'm being considerably snappier at people, I think as a result to this built-up-pressure preying on my mind. I'm worried I might blow up soon. I think I have three options; a) Just keep schtum, it'll be easier to do so as time goes on. b) Talk it over with someone linked to this, yet not actually the main person involved. c) Talk it over with the main person involved and air my problems. My fear being that then they'll then stop doing this thing (which, remember, they want to do badly, and I really don't want to stand in their way), or - equally bad - relations between us will become tense. In short, er, HELP! Any suggestions on which of those things to go for, or is there something else that I can do to stop this situation boiling over? (Don't worry, folks. Normal meaningless drivel - probably about games - will continue soon.) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, January 28th, 2005
1:18 am	Shifting demographics It's tough to not be financially viable any more. Greg Kasavin from Gamespot recently wrote a journal entry which captured everything that's been bothering me about the games industry these last few years, and potentially for the imminent future. The long and the short of it, though, is this: I've been gaming for over twenty years now. And yes, five, ten years ago, I really felt that *I* was the target demographic of games - they focussed on the gaming elements I enjoyed, and concentrated on making the best gaming experience they could. Maybe that's starry-eyed nostalgia, but compare that with today; recently, a representative of Electronic Arts said the following: "People will want to play video games if their heroes like Robbie Williams or Christina Aguilera are in them." The depressing thing is that he's probably right. EA had something like 27 million-selling titles last year - and the vast majority of those aren't actually all that great. There's a tendency among gaming snobs (which I try to avoid being, but fail miserably half the time) to claim that EA release a ton of bad games; that's not true. But I would argue that few products that EA release are particularly special - there's almost always a far better option around. EA, though, have the meaty licenses, the James Bonds, the Lord of the Rings', the Harry Potters and the FIFAs of the world - and those are the games that sell. So, yeah. Unless the mass gaming market has an ephiphany which causes them to no longer accept games which are mediocre - and don't ask me just how that'd happen - I see the industry moving further and further away from releasing what I recognise as enjoyable games. There's a common myth amongst retrogamers, the claim that "old games are better". This isn't true; there are games being released which are every bit as good as the best of those from the old days. The fear I have is that, sooner rather than later, that claim will *become* true. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, January 17th, 2005
12:40 am	That music memethingy I wasn't going to do this one, mainly because I generally don't follow a band enough to know more than their more popular singles, but in the shower I hit upon a way to keep with the spirit of the thing. Describe yourself using one band and song titles from that band Created by naw5689 and taken 7314 times on bzoink! Choose a band/artist and answer only in song TITLES by that band: Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy Soundtracks Are you male or female: Farm Boy Describe yourself: It's difficult to stand on both feet, isn't it? How do some people feel about you: Dancing mad How do you feel about yourself: Jesters of the moonless sky Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend: My mind Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend: Search for the princess Describe where you want to be: Where I belong Describe what you want to be: A great success Describe how you live: Only a plank between one and perdition Describe how you love: Two hearts that can't be stolen Share a few words of wisdom Go above the clouds! Create a Survey | Search Surveys | Go to bzoink! (I was trying to find a way to use "Tango of Tears" for one of the love ones - and, for that matter, I was very tempted to put, for "How do you love", "Interrupted by fireworks"!) (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 16th, 2005
4:40 pm	Royal Blue Peanut Let me tell you all a little story. About eight years ago, the Sega Saturn was struggling to stay commercially viable. At the time, a game entitled Panzer Dragoon Saga was released. I saw it for £30, and *almost* bought it. I never saw it again. It rapidly became fairly rare, there weren't a huge number of copies released in PAL territories - the only figures I can find state "a few thousand" are out there. Unfortunately, on top of this, it's also supposed to be rather good. That left something of a bitter taste in my mouth. Since then, I've tended to err on the side of "buy now, you may not get a chance later" with games, which has left me with a huge pile of games I still need to play properly. Fast forward to now... ( Chapter 2... ) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 13th, 2005
12:48 am	Denial I don't have a Livejournal. No. Sorry, Jimbo. Anyhow, hello. New year, time to start trying new things, so one of them is getting a big empty space I can warble into. Normally that's IRC, but the line length was getting far too restrictive, so I'll try this out instead. Hi. Um. Of course, it'd be rash to make the assumption that I have anything worth saying. Er. New year's resolutions? Yeah, that's probably a decent place to start off. Well, there's the ever-present desire to lose weight (Yesterday, I dropped below 16 stone for the first time in ages. For me, that's an achievement. Mustn't let up - my target's an acceptable BMI by the end of the year). Beyond that? A vague plan to start giving more of a damn about, well, me; A lot of times when I've been down has been due to putting too much stress on myself, either through working too late or taking on other people's problems, so it's time to start knowing when to say no. At least, I think. I'll see how it pans out, and if my overactive guilt gland can stand the difficulty of coping with that. Might as well get one of these out of the way, while I'm at it, since it seems like all the cool kids are doing it: You Are 29 Years Old 29 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. What Age Do You Act? This makes me the oldest-acting person I know. Those of you who know me *must* know that that's not right. Mind you, given the description of 30, it's one year out from being even wronger! (5 Comments |Comment on this)