Japanese Artverts Series1 : Waterfall

I this series we will be considering some interesting 'artvertisements' ,as I am calling them ,that are quite a notable form of art as you will see in the following posts.

First is the Waterfall located in a shopping area in Fukuoda ,providing for both as an informant and entertainment for customers around the area. Unlike a normal waterfall this one can 'print'. Controlling the flow of water - where and when it comes out from the sprouts carefully arranged beside each other- makes it possible to show different forms and shapes.



This particularly fascinated me because of the extra step that the company took ,not just giving their information but also some entertainment aspect to it. In this era ,or ,in the western world there are very few things at all wether on the tele or over the internets that is really a work of art ,which they should all be.

LevelE

Anime... a means of escape from a harsh world ,or at least thats what it is said to be. To someone who simply enjoys it this may be different - as a form of art in itself ,more than just leisuring on the tv. As this is mostly a one sided reality ,a barrier is formed with the normal people. normal people... . Then who is to make the decision what is normal and what is not. Well this would be left for each person to decide - mainstream... or original ,or new?

More on the series which can be considered a slice of life ,we follow the life and interactions between a few chosen earthlings and some aliens. Which may be happening now ,aliens ,which have come from various other planets ,live amongst the humans who know nothing of their existence than themselves. In plain words this may sound like a bleak and pessimistic story but just the opposite of that you will find. I recommend watching at least the first episode of this series which you will find quite enjoyable.

StarCraftII

For the RTS gamer this game is a norm that the may even spend most of their leisure playing. Of course this is not the only real time strategy game there is out there so there are those who hate it with a passion ,we wont go into that though - how they are wrong and should probably stop playing games at all. We will be looking at the pro community who indulge in competitive play and are passionate about what they do. 


Despite liking the franchise and playing the prequels and squeals ,there are still some major disappointments that the fans have been facing. StarCraftII ,the sequel to the origional ,brought changes that affected gameplay but this is unavoidable and good since it introduces new ways to play. The change that brought unrest was the removal of LAN play. In StarCraft ,the first title ,practicing with friends whenever time was available at any place was something common and still is. Requiring an connection to the internet to play any game at all ,removes some of the fun and accessibility. This in some way soured the relationship between Blizzard and the RTS gamer ,so much that they could not move on to the new iteration of their favorite hobby. As time goes on it is inevitable that many will be accepting what has been made for them. With that said ,as a community ,is it that what we do and where we go in terms of interests is controlled by what is made for us ,that we have no choice but to give in?

A Call To Join Shadowloo

...merely a set of special effects an sound? I think this mashup was an excellent execution of skill ,content presentation alike.
Here we have a reveal trailer for the 'gods' of this year's ShadowlooShowdown:2K11 
It is an event that features a circle of fighting game players ,deemed to be top of the class ,who showdown against a number of participants in a series of SuperStreetFighter4 games.


Just excited as I am for the event coming up ,the visuals also leave me in awe being well made and  presented. The basic skills and knowledge required to make something like this are something attainable to almost anyone ,but this is a good example of an artist thinking ,of how he can pull this off with high quality and successfully convey the message without taking away from the information or making it blunt. I think this was greatly achieved because the video had its job done and not a feeling of wanting more was there.
 Defamiliarisation? The music that goes with the visuals was a great contributing factor as I guess it sends out the right 'vibes' of the event - a competition? - or maybe the reality of this recreation? Games in general are something that anyone can enjoy ,but when you narrow down to certain genres this is no longer true however. It becomes more about the people around you enjoying the same things - a gaming community. Like this it is more enjoyable ,more about us enjoying something ,less about you passing time.




Join the Syndicate:
http://www.shadowloo.com/

Sakura Exibition

For this post we will be looking at a showcase of skill with the character Sakura, from SuperStreetFighter4, a game in the genre of fighters, which was released a year ago.

In the past few years there has not been much development in the fighting game genre as the community for this is not as robust compared to others. Quite different from the retro period where there was an abundance of this type of games, now there are only 7 newly released - at least ones that made the move to 3D characters - namely: Blazblue, SuperStreetFighter4, Tatsunoko.vsCapcom, KingofFightersXIII, Marvel.vsCapcom3, StreetFighterXTekken, and Tekken6.

SuperStreetFighter4 and Blazblue take the top as the most favored and if you may, best well made.

As mentioned before there are not many people who play these games, and this is mainly because of the skill and time required to even enjoy them. This is both a good thing and a problem in itself. It is then difficult for new players as they have a lot of catchup to do for them to be 'good enough'. For those who are already experienced players, this brings opportunity for more competition and bettering themselves even more. Tournaments and Rankings then come into play, to best enjoy these you must be at least expert in using your chosen character which means that you invest a lot of time into honing your skills.

...here though we will be looking at a video of an online match up that was played quite recently, where Sakura「VapidEagle8」 battles against Fei「Ryukichikun」 (taking up the first 3 minutes of the video)

These are well versed players ranking with A and B+ scoring.

Hand-eye coordination is of absolute essence and I think the Sakura play we see here is flawless,

where we observe correct placement of combos, focus and the ultra finish :