Vidya games!
It’s really easy to write a blog post when you’ve got something to brag about. It’s like a wordy pat on the back for a job well done. It’s a lot harder to sit here and think about how to write about failure. You’ve somehow got to find a nuanced way to say ‘I wanted to do a thing but didn’t’.
I wanted to be able to squat 90kg by the end of last month and I failed to do so. Continue reading “Failure”
DISCLAIMER: This is going to be some serious ‘First World Problem’ type shit. So if you’re not interested in having someone moan about how they can’t get the video game T-shirts they want, shut that browser down now. In fact, if you don’t want to hear people moan about inconsequential stuff, I’d strongly recommend you nuke your Facebook and Twitter accounts too whilst you’re at it.
First – some props. Props to Uniqlo for producing some good T-shirts. They know how to do good T-shirts. They know how to do good T-shirts with good brands and good films and good bands and other good things on them. They do good men’s T-shirts, women’s T-shirts and kid’s T-shirts. They do good. Continue reading “Uniqlo – A Complaint”
One of the things that keep me interested in a hobby or any sort of activity is the idea that I can get ‘better’ at it or see signs of progress. This is why I’ve enjoyed getting back into running.
As part of my prep for my middle-class obstacle course, I’ve done a whole bunch of running – much more than I’ve done in quite some time. Thanks to modern technology (which isn’t really that modern at all) I can keep tabs of just how far I’m running and how fast I’m running too. I’m currently using RunKeeper and for what I need, it’s pretty good. It’s also allowed me to say, categorically, that I’ve got better at running. Continue reading “For the Record”
I just went and read through the post where I chatted about the 4 main goals I wanted to focus on via this blog and one of them was ‘fitness’.
What an utterly useless and abstract thing to achieve.
So let me break it down into a couple of areas that I think fall into the ‘fitness’ category;
– Be Able To Run
– Be Stronger
– Be Less Flabby
– Be Able To Compete In A Sport
These? These are all much more measurable and better goals to set. With this in mind, let’s focus on the first on that list. How am I doing this? By participating in a ‘Messy Middle-Class Obstacle Course’.
I’m talking about Tough Mudder.
Continue reading “Fitness – What Does That Even Mean?”
It’s time for an update and it’s time to revisit just what this corner of the internet is all about. See, when I started this blog all those years ago I had just planned on writing about video games with the aim being that someone would read my pieces and then allow me to write on their site. It was a foolproof plan and it worked flawlessly. I’ve gone on to receive countless review copies of games, attend all manner of events and just have a grand old time.
Then I used this blog to act as something of a portfolio because I wanted to change career. As someone that loved to teach but began to hate being a teacher, it was time to make a big shift and see if I could become a programmer. Well, a professional programmer. For years I’d been coding and teaching others how to function (geddit!?) but that wasn’t good enough for most companies. They wanted to see examples of games and apps I’d made. So, in between hours of lesson planning, teaching, marking work and obtaining my diploma in education I also spent time producing example pieces for my portfolio. You know what? That worked a treat too!
So I’m now a professional programmer – my day job involves making apps for a publisher of educational books. It’s a pretty sweet gig. On top of that I’m now doing my own work, having setup my own company (www.rinsewashrepeat.co.uk) where I make mobile games. I also write for a number of websites still, so that’s all good too.
So what’s to become of this site? Well, the idea is to chat about my other things I’ve got going on. I’ve got 4 main areas that I’m trying to improve aside from my video game writing and making. They are;
Forex – I’d love to get into Forex trading and find it pretty fascinating. I think keeping a diary of my successes and failures would be a good way to go and would be a good way to stay disciplined in trading (with a demo account) and making sure I analyse what went well or poorly each day.
Learning Japanese – Another goal of mine that requires discipline and although no-one will read this blog, it’s a good way to ensure I stick to a plan else I’ll look like a total tool in front of everyone (no-one).
Fitness – This one’s pretty vague and a bit too broad, so I’ll come up with some more concrete aims fairly soon. Basically, last year I took up rugby and it was a baptism of fire, tough tackles and rough rucks. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like you’re not helping your teammates out and I’d love to improve my stamina and get stronger. An added bonus would be that I could earn the title of ‘Buff Ting’ – which would be lovely.
YouTube – Rather than be a crusty old man (I’m 30, you know) I’ve decided to ‘get into’ YouTube more recently and I’ve been super surprised. Outside of the shouty tossers and right-wing ballbags there’s some amazing content to be found. Danny O’Dwyer’s ‘NoClip’ channel is particularly incredible and whilst I won’t be doing anything quite like he does, I feel it would be a good challenge to see if I could get some subscribers to watch me play video games. Everyone else is at it, so why not me?
So that’s the plan. I’ve got a couple of things that I want to work on and this will be the place where I’ll write about what I’m up to and keep you informed on the progress I’m making. Plus, if there’s anything else I fancy writing about this’ll be the place for it too.
Or maybe I’ll just never write on this blog ever again. Who knows?
Hello there people. I’m assuming that there are still people that stumble onto these pages and that you’re not all robots created to spam the hell out of my comments.
Whatever you are, I’m looking for a little feedback if you can give it (and even if you can’t). I’ve edited my page all to do with my coding. I’m really looking to switch industries right now, moving out of education and hopefully into a programming role. The thing is, I’ve spent the last 5+ years developing other people’s programming skills – helping to make other people look good – and I’ve totally left myself out of the loop.
So, what I’d like to know is this – ‘what’s missing from my Coding’ page’? I’ve put some of my previous work on there and I’m working away on some new pieces, but is there anything in particular that you’d really want to see from looking to become a ‘professional’ programmer?
Freelance work, Game Jams and my own projects – I’ve done them all. I just can’t seem to get anyone to give me that first ‘proper’ title.
Harumph.
Hello to anyone that still somehow stumbles upon this here website. You may have noticed that it’s gone unattended for quite some time now. Boy howdy, I sure have let this place go. It’s like an Animal Crossing village that’s been abandoned for centuries. Fucking weeds everywhere.
Anyway, I’m in the process of uprooting all of my internet doings and as part of that this site will metomorphise into something new and shiny very soon. It will not be ‘my’ site anymore – it’ll be my studio’s site.
I’m cranking away at starting up a mini game development studio and this website URL is perfect for it. So this WordPress jazz will be relegated to some horrible wordpress.freeaccount.tightbastard.rinse_washr3peat112.co.org URL. Them’s the breaks.
To soften the blow for anyone that stumbles upon this site, please know I’ll be using this as a personal thing on occasions and I’ll use this site to shamelessly self-promote my writings and game makings.
Whilst I’m here, here’s an old article that I wrote prior to the PS4 being announced. It never got used on any site I write for – I can’t figure out why. Enjoy!
(to enjoy, you need to click on the blog title and down 3 shots of whisky – the writing is inaccessible and utter rubbish otherwise)
I wrote about a game I played. I’m making a real habit of this…
Matt Parker's Blog 