Indie Games from the Karlo Licudine aka The Accidental Rebel
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 29th, 2011Karlo Licudine used to do a lot of professional blogging before. Most of you may know him as Karlo “Pinoyblogero” while others may know him more as that young talented guy who creates great CSS templates for several companies. I’ve always been in touch with Karlo for various projects these past 2 years and on the side I’d visit his site to see what’s been up.
For those who don’t know, Karlo has shelved his “Pinoyblogero” persona and is now busy as the Accidental Rebel, developing local video games for the PC, Mac and Linux.
Check out RESCUE SUPPORT, a game he made for LudumDare #21. He made this game in 16 hours following this year’s theme of “ESCAPE.”
This game is my entry to Ludum Dare #21, a widely known rapid game making contest on the internet where participants need to create a game solo in 48 hours. The theme for this contest is “Escape”.
Play it here. I found it fascinatingly addicting and was amazed at what Karlo was able to do in less than a day. He’s planning on improving it of course but he’s got the core mechanics down — it got me hooked for more than 10 minutes.
Or check out this demo for a Jose Rizal themed mystery / adventure game done Phoenix Wright style. It’s called Detective Rizal and the Jaded Ruby.
This is a game I’m working on for the “Jose Rizal is in a Video Game” competition. It’s a tribute to the 150th year of Jose Rizal.
Detective Rizal and the Jaded Ruby is an adventure game with a mystery/detective concept inspired by the Phoenix Wright series and Detective Conan Anime.
In game music for trailer and game by Jerel Limayo.
There’s a demo which you can download as well.
In any case, I’d suggest browsing his site. He’s got other stuff including The Pacifist (platformer) and Trapped in Time (top down shooter). It’s good to know that we’ve got passionate local talent here trying to start something on their own. Supporting him is easy. Share his site. Play his games. Give great feedback and cheer him on!
Keep up the good work, Karlo!
My DIY Solution to Buoyancy Arms for Underwater Strobe
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 28th, 2011
INON Mega Float Arm (Medium) sale price PHP 3,300.00
DIY Kids R Us Floaters price ~ PHP 250.00
Small fad among my dive buddies. It just so happens that these foam funnels from Kids R’ Us (they’re everywhere!) have a perfectly sized donut hole that fits the standard size arms for underwater strobes. Yay, cheap!
Buoyancy arms are there to balance out the heavy weight of your underwater camera so that you have an easier time carrying it underwater. Mine’s made of foam.
Counterstrike: Global Offensive Video Preview
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 26th, 2011
Firebomb on the way!
The new Counterstrike is nearing its beta release this October. Scouring the Internet you will find more speculation that fact with regards to the changes to one of the world’s most popular LAN games. Counterstrike: Global Offensive or CS:GO isn’t a Counterstrike 2. In fact if you watch the video, it’s pretty similar to the game we’ve come to love in LAN parties with a number of changes that introduce new play styles.
For instance, the new Molotov Cocktail does damage over time (DOT) to anyone stepping on the flames. This is very strategic for blocking off choke points and key targets for a short period of time. The other addition would be small revamps to popular maps such as in de_dust where the underpass has been widened with a stairwell that leads up opposite the tunnel.
I’m excited! Especially since today, I don’t need to spend countless hours playing from an Internet cafe (while cutting class). The game will be available for download via Steam and will also be on the XBOX 360 and the Playstation 3.
SMART Netphone Pricing for Postpaid and Prepaid
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 26th, 2011
Well here it is! The moment you’ve been waiting for — NETPHONE PRICING SCHEMES! The first Netphone will be available on both prepaid and postpaid plans. You can hop on to www.netphone.ph for all the details but to sum up everything:
This is the list of plans on postpaid. And here is the list of daily and monthly “bite sized” plans for data.
If you look closely, there is an obvious “sweet spot” in the pricing scheme under the “all-in” unlimited monthly data for PHP 999 a month as apart from unlimited IM and social stream usage (that’s SmartNet, Facebook and Twitter), you also get 3,500 SMS messages and 200 minutes of voice calls. Insane. I’d change my 8 year old plan if I could.
If you’ve all been curious as to what exactly the Netphone can do, there’s a guided tour on the Netphone site.
Netphone keeps a running balance of your load
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 25th, 2011
“I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it.”
- Pointer Sisters
This photo pretty much sums up two key features about SmartNet. If you’re subscribed to Netphone services, (1) you’re always connected to SMART’s data network. The way they charge for this is very different from all their other data plans (volume based and time based). In this case, (2) you can see the current running balance if you’re on postpaid and your current remaining load balance if you’re on prepaid. By default, this solves a lot of customer support issues because you will always be aware of your usage. No more surprises.
HERE: For the past several hours I’ve been online with only PHP 1.00 of load. On Facebook. On Twitter. On SmartNet’s own global directory. On chat. And this is really one of the best ways to explain the synergy between the phone and the cost of services tied to it.
There’s no other service in this country that lets you keep a PHP 1.00 balance while letting you do all these great things on the Internet. The Netphone line from SMART will come with its own super-low pricing schemes for data. Abangan. September 1.
Go the F**k to Sleep read by Samuel L. Jackson
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 24th, 2011This is the Audible.com trailer promo of Go the F**k to Sleep, a children’s book written by Adam Mansbach and illustrated by Ricardo Cortés. This version is the best, as it is read by Samuel L. Jackson. The whole book is less than 10 minutes long and serves as a tribute to weary parents everywhere.
You can buy it for USD $1.71 if you’re an Audible member but this YouTube video is basically the whole book!
Netphone Begins: Unboxing the Netphone 701
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 24th, 2011
UPDATE: Actual Netphone pricing for both prepaid and postpaid plans over here.
Dropped by SMART this afternoon to meet up with Louie. On the latest list of things to study would be the highly anticipated 701, the first of the Netphone smartphones. Exciting! Back in February, I was able to play with a pre-alpha release. This is the real thing and it comes in a nice box reminiscent of how I loved unboxing G.I. Joe toys as a kid. As I still need to charge the phone and get some much needed sleep here’s a little unboxing for you after the jump.
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PC Gaming is Not Dead
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 23rd, 2011
This is an ad I found on the Internet. It was allegedly placed in the Wall Street Journal by Razer, the company that makes the best gaming mice in the industry. This is definitely one of the most debated topics in the world of gaming — the “death” of PC gaming. I really think it’s far from it, IMHO. But now, someone from the industry has decided to really speak up.
More than an “advocacy,” it also looks like a campaign for the Switchblade but it seems that the PC Gaming is Alive campaign may be something more than this.
Check it out: http://pcgamingisnotdead.com/
Whatever it is, the entire campaign is intriguing.
Customize Android Notifications with Pops — Themes for your alerts
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 22nd, 2011
I think this video explains everything better than my 150 words.
First off, thanks to Billycoy for sharing this on Plurk.
I’m really happy how Android handles the drop down Notifications. In fact, it’s that (alongside how I can’t use just one button for a phone) that I am not using an iPhone. Anyway, since Google allows app developers more leeway to customizing the user experience with each handset,
Pops allows you to customize your Notification alert when the screen is idle. As of late, you can customize incoming SMS, GMail, Twitter and Facebook (from messages to friend requests to notifications). You can choose from dozens of themes and even create your own using your Android device’s camera. Best of all, it’s free!
And yes, Pops does have that psychological effect in adding some cheer to work-related emails or SMS from someone you really hate. =)
If you’re on the Android Marketplace, do a search for the complete title “Pops Themes For Your Alerts” or click on this to jump to the app page.
#SmartNetPhone is ALMOST HERE!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 20th, 2011https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23SmartNetPhone
The first SMART Netphone running on SMARTNET is almost here. Who cares about unlimited text when you can have a BBM-like service for the entire SMART subscriber base. Also, the localized search functions is wicked / useful. Follow the tweets at #SmartNetPhone for more!
Samsung launches local unlimited Blu-ray and 3D movie rental service for customers
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at August 20th, 2011
TL;DR: For the price of one Blu-ray disc a year, Samsung lets you rent unlimited Blu-ray titles delivered to your home.
UPDATE: Added screenshots of the web-based Blu-ray browser and a walkthrough of how to get your discs.
Wow. Apparently, Samsung sees the HDTV industry the same way most consumers do. Everyone is buying really nice televisions but nobody is watching Blu-ray movies because they’re just too damn expensive. So what Samsung did was create a Blu-ray rental service to cater to all their customers who bought one of their Blu-ray players or flat panel TV’s (with a Blu-ray package). If you bought one before August 15, sorry but you can’t avail of this service (FFFUUUUUUU!!!!).
The service is called Blupass and it isn’t for sale. It’s a value added Blu-ray and 3D disc rental service which you get after you purchase a player or TV-with-player bundle after August 15 2011. The service basically creates a community around Samsung’s cinephiles (which by the way is extremely brilliant) allowing them to rent from all 500++ titles available in the Philippines.
Pricing after the jump.
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