[crouton] Nathaniel Trost: Is it still May 1st?

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Posted by Nathaniel Trost:
Is it still May 1st?
http://crouton.powerblogs.com/archives/archive_2006_05_14-2006_05_20.shtml#1148095681


   I had intended to write a blog entry marveling at the fact it had
   already reached the advanced date of May 1st. Obviously, it is now
   substantially later than that.
   May is a hectic month, and yet not hectic enough. Being in the process
   of finalizing a project has consumed the usual immense amount of time
   and energy. On top of that I'm struggling with some general battle
   fatigue that could best be summed up as a case of the blahs. Or
   perhaps, the desperate need of an extended vacation. For everything
   I'm getting done, there is more nagging at me or dogging my steps.
   This too shall pass, but all in all this is a trying month. Sometimes
   you hit points where it's just too much work to maintain a positive
   attitude for a bit, I think I'm in one of those now. I know what I
   want to be doing, I'm just not there and progress seems to be at a
   standstill. For now.
   I attended my ninth E3 trade show this month. Yes, ninth. The majority
   of my professional career, not by intent and somewhat to my chagrin
   has involved the computer and videogame industry. E3 is the show du
   jour of that realm. And I, as the self-proclaimed Sheena Easton of
   Interactive Entertainment must do my duty and attend.
   As the years go by my tolerance for the sensory overload of the show
   floor gets smaller and smaller. It is currently about 90 minutes. The
   rest of my time at the show is an exercise in trying to network and
   meet up with people amid the hustle and bustle.
   At this point, I am every bit as jaded when it comes to games as say,
   anyone involved with film is about movies. This does not however stop
   me from feeling a sense of glee at the Nintendo Wii. I still do not
   own a PSP, or a 360 and it is doubtful I will acquire a PS3. I'm
   getting a dang Wii.
   Now that we are, once again, in the 'next-gen' cycle, it is
   interesting and depressing to see the results. The potential of the
   360 and PS3 require ever greater resources, level of detail and
   technical expertise. Of course, merely spending gobs of money (which
   next-gen titles take in ever increasing amounts) doesn't mean you're
   going to wow me. With this crop of consoles more than ever, execution
   counts for a lot. The talent, especially on a team level, required to
   excel is going to be few and far between. I saw so many things at E3
   that just left me going 'meh' for all their production values.
   A bit exception and hat tip to certain teams at Ubisoft. I don't know
   what's in the water over there, but well done. Splinter Cell: Double
   Agent has the best real-time character model I've seen on just about
   all fronts: rendering, animation, lighting. Very impressive. Rainbow
   Six Vegas also had stellar environments. And the games themselves look
   interesting, of course I've always enjoyed those genres.
   Next up, I critique Google!