Game VFX Effects tools
Matchlock makes a visual effects tool called Bishamon. It appears to integrate with everything to Unity to console development. You can even download a copy right now with a 60 day license for their WWVFX contest.
Learned more in 5 minutes than 5 years of lessons…
Musicians Inspired has a great set of videos about learning the piano. I remember 2-3 years of piano lessons when I was like 10, but this guy manages to teach more in 5 minutes than I learned in 5 weeks.
Check out these videos on sight reading and playing chords.
Mary’s Theme
Some easy listening: Mary’s Theme – Stelvio Cipriani. Used in the 1969 Italian thriller film ‘Femmina ridens’/’The Laughing Woman’
The movie looks pretty epic:
Clue: A Novel by Michael McDowell
The movie Clue wasn’t a great hit when it came out – in fact it was pretty well panned by the critics and it was one of the last movies to use multiple endings. It wasn’t until much later that the movie became popular with a strong cult following. The initial flop, however, had unfortunate side effects on the other items that came out with the movie – especially the books which were quickly discontinued and forgotten.
Two books that came out with the movie were Clue by Michael McDowell, and Clue: The Storybook. I got a copy of the storybook via inter-library loan a few years back and uploaded a copy here. It’s a fairly short picture book, but does reveal a much-hinted at secret 4th ending that was never filmed. The Clue novelization by Michael McDowell, however, is much more of a standard length paperback.
While I have a lot of nostalgia for the movie, watching and quoting it endlessly, the McDowell book …. well…. leaves a lot to be desired. For a die-hard fan like me it’s worth the read but the writing isn’t very good and it certainly doesn’t capture the fun of the movie. You won’t learn anything new. It does pretty much follows the movie shot-for-shot.
I have a copy of the novelization, but prices have been getting stratospheric lately. Running as much as $200-$400. I have considered scanning my book for posterity, just like I did for Clue: The Storybook.
But until I get to that stage, you can actually listen to an amature reading of the un-abridged version via the above YouTube video. Read by Austin Curry (sp?), he does mispronounce words on occasion, but it’s more than good enough to give a listen. You can also download a mirrored copy of the audiobook version here if the YouTube link breaks (again).
2023 UPDATE!: you can now read and download the McDowell Clue book from the Internet Archive!! If you’d like to download McDowell’s Clue book, I also put a PDF copy locally here for posterity.
Title : Clue
Author : Michael McDowell
ISBN : 9780449130490
ISBN10: 0449130495
LCCN : 85091213
Publisher: New York : Fawcett Gold Medal
Publication date: November 12, 1985 by Fawcett
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
An Amature History of Clue
Did you have a grandma that caught Murder She Wrote every day without fail? Was your first childhood adventure games one of the King Quest series from Sierra?
Pushing Up Roses makes a lot of content that speaks to late 80’s kids. This video does a great job of capturing the experience many Clue movie fans had when they first saw the movie – likely as a afternoon movie on TV.
Who Did It? The Story Behind the Clue VCR Mystery Game
Not to be undone by a documentary about how the Clue: The Movie was made, Stand Still Pictures created a documentary about the making of the Clue VCR Mystery Game. Give it a watch – it’s pretty entertaining.
Who Done It? A Clue Documentary
Seven suspects. Six weapons. Five bodies. Three endings. One amazing ensemble cast and one extremely talented director. That is the formula for one of the greatest cult classics of all time: Clue: The Movie. One of my favorite movies.
Soon, It looks like So Fake Productions will release the fan doc: Who Done It: The Clue Documentary. Featuring rare photos, fan testimonials, archival interviews and, more importantly, ALL NEW interviews with original cast members.
There is also more info on their Facebook Page
Lenovo Yoga 730 13IKB keys not working well
This seems to be a common problem. On my keyboard, I’d have ASD intermittently drop out or take a couple hits to register.
I used this technique to re-seat the cable and help it lay a bit better under the battery – but I also used 99% isopropanol alcohol to clean the contacts. I actually got quite a bit of gunk off the contacts. I re-connected things but was still having trouble with f and g keys. I tried once more, and it seems to have perhaps solved it.
Time will tell, but maybe give it a try if you are having trouble.
We all know these guys
Applies equally the same for any FPS game you ever play.
Mall Madne$$
Missing the malls of the 80’s? Go pick up one of the Mall Madness board game that helps you relive some mall shopping fun.
Sadly, this is just for the shoppers. I would have loved to see the variety of characters with different motivations. What about the skateboard slackers that just drink Orange Julius and meet up with friends? What about the video gamer that wants to set the high score at the arcade and score the latest gamestop game? I think there could be some interesting ideas for a new, improved version of mall madness…maybe one that teaches you about the 80’s cultural phenomenon like Oregon Trail did…