My Mind, or: The Haunted House

I'm having a fantastic time in Hermanus, as always! It never disappoints. Happy New Year! May 2016 always be a very fond memory for you guys. I look forward to it being one of my best years, and I hope it's the same for you.   Before I list my resolutions, let me quickly review what I once learned to be a SMART goal. Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time-bound I might not have put down the specific details in full of each and every goal, but ALL of these are far more than just pie-in-the-sky, trust me. Without further delay, my list: Count the Calories I aim for 1800 calories a day, and track this using the Health app on my phone. Before my next meal, I make sure that I'm up-to-date and have added the data manually. Even estimating the calories is better than just munching haphazardly, and makes you more aware of what's going in your body.  Join Virgin Active I've been putting this off for long enough, but ...

It came. After many years. I saw it. It did not conquer my heart. Not quite, but it came damn close! I salute director J.J. Abrams and his team for delivering a success. They certainly had all the odds against them. The opening battle didn't thrill me. As a designer, I'd have started a little more dramatically after the audience had waited for 40-odd years. However, Sith master Kylo Ren/Ben was initially very impressive. I loved his design, with the voice being OMG-cool! Soon, things start feeling a bit familiar with FN-2781/Finn and his exploits aboard the First Order battleship where he rescues Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. This feeling progresses when we're shown scavenger Rey's exploits on Jakku, a planet very much like Tattooine. We identify with the mission of the lovable BB8-droid entrusted with the map to Luke Skywalker's location. We are FIRMLY back in the saddle shortly thereafter. Han Solo and Chewbacca show up to re-tak...

I'm just playing, of course it's Hitman: Agent 47 . Or just Agent 47 according to Ster Kinekor's app. Anyway— I saw it today along with Richard and Lindsey. It was vaguely entertaining. I'll touch on two major flaws, along with one good point about the film in my review. Let's start with the plot. What can we say about it? Hitman has to kill a megalomaniac world leader and retrieve a nuke to stop him from blowing up the world! No wait, that's not it. He has to travel back in time to— Ok, I confess. I didn't really get the plot. I'm sure Richard would be disappointed here. To sum it up, there's a girl. She was created and genetically mutated to be paranoid by her father, an evil scientist who mellowed out like a hippie with orchids 'n' stuff in Singapore when he got older and developed lung cancer. People from Syndicate want him, because he's the only one who knows how to make new super soldiers, or AGENTS. Zachary Quinto...

With the advent of Black Sails  on the History channel (186 on DStv), I'm reinvigorated in my desire for this to be a success. You can bet your socks there will be both Billy Bones and Captain Flint characters. If you have any feedback on the process I'm using to design Grog 1699 (working title) don't hesitate to let me know. Let's go into the first stage of Grog 1699 a bit. It would be called something akin to "Recruit and Equip." "Recruit and Equip   Setting: Port (Town) Goal: Assemble your crew and equip your ship Challenge: Attaining the goal while everyone is trying to get the best crew members and equipment. It will require careful management of time and money. I'm keen to include an element of gambling in this portion. Perhaps a card mini-game against pirates in a tavern? Something like that." This phase would start with all the seafarer cards laid out in the centre of the table. Perhaps there would be around 50 in the final ...

Things are finally moving out of my head and onto the page with the Grog 1699 design. Through these entries, you can be a companion to the design process. Where do I start? I've already mentioned the basic premise for the game here http://mymindthehauntedhouse.blogspot.com/2013/10/good-morning-class-please-sit-down.html Let's move onto solid ground. I'm starting with the characters to be included in the game. I'm thinking a list of roughly 20 or so famous seafarers should be a great start towards the inevitable prototype. The ones I want to introduce today, are: William Kidd Calico Jack "Jack Rackham" Blackbeard "Edward Teach" William Kidd: ​ "Captain William Kidd (c. 22 January 1645 – 23 May 1701) was a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer. Kidd's...