TIDAL, if you weren't aware, is a new music streaming platform that boasts high-quality audio, exclusive content and a better, fairer, deal for the artists and/or musicians involved.
Advertised as a wonderful alternative to the likes of Spotify and YouTube, to give fans near "Lossless" music, and artists both new and old more control over their own content and a better return for it.
It has, however, a major design flaw.
It's £20 a month.
That might not sound like a big deal, but it sort of is.
Think about the age we live in, most people consume entertainment on-the-fly via their mobile phones. Most use their phones to listen to music, browse the internet and watch YouTube (when better screens aren't available, time saving or convenient). Some people even watch entire MOVIES on their phones.
When the general public is used to, and largely fine with, this method of getting their fix; where does preservation of quality even come into it?
Now here's the crux of the matter:
The AVERAGE consumer CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE between higher quality audio and a decent MP3.
I have a strong belief that a clear minded, objective person, upon using TIDAL for the first time would think something to the effect of "Well, sounds the same to me...".
They'll then realise that after the initial one-month free trail, they'll be paying £20 a month for "Well, sounds the same to me...".
I'm a musician, and the majority of my friends and colleges are also either musicians or at least passionate about it. And AS a bunch of young musicians from Salisbury, England... most of us aren't particularly well off, money-wise. So you can imagine what their reaction to £20 a month for "Well, sounds the same to me..." might be.
While TIDAL will obviously be a massive help to the industry and will become a fantastic platform for new musicians to be discovered and possibly get their big break, it simply isn't a good enough deal for the CONSUMERS; who will just continue to use Spotify and YouTube which, despite having tedious adverts, are FREE.
Remember monophonic ringtones? Remember how fucking atrocious they where? But at the time no one cared because it meant you could hear your favorite tune whenever your mates rang you up. Most people can easily let quality fall by the wayside for the sake of a quick fix, and TIDAL is anything but quick. Believe it or not, you need pretty fucking good internet to stream damn near LOSSLESS AUDIO.
As if that weren't enough, I have a feeling that TIDAL is being sneaky in trying to make an audio difference more noticeable...
I'm no expert, but I have a feeling that TIDAL boosts the low-end (the bass) of it's music, just slightly, to make it sound "deeper" or "richer" for when the average listener inevitably starts comparing TIDAL's audio to their own collection. NOW, this might just be a genuine result of the higher quality audio, but I'm pretty damn suspicious.
Anyway, I recommend trying out the one-month free trial and forming your own opinion, get back to me with it. Remember to cancel the damn thing as soon as you decide it's not worth it, should you do so, otherwise it'll renew automatically.
Bye for now.
-B
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Friday, 15 November 2013
Amnesia A Machine For Pigs REVIEW
A Machine For Pigs (AMFP) is a scary game, that's not the problem. It has a decent, if predictable, story, but that's not the problem. In a roundabout way it is a proper game, which is getting closer to what the problem is (but still not it).
The problem with AMFP is overkill, every point the game tries to make ends up being hammered home like there's no tomorrow. If you watched the second trailer for the game you already understand what the game is about, at the end of it an exchange between two characters pretty much spells it out. Here's a synopsis:
"Oh BTW, Mandus, there aren't enough pigs for your mass slaughtering automated meat factory."
"That depends on what one considers to be a pig."
That one line and the way it's delivered tells you everything you need to know. He's implying that actual pigs aren't the only thing going in his machine, and that he'll probably end up feeding people into it. It's a perfect line for the trailer, which hints that the rest of the game will expand on this idea.
SPOILER WARNING
It doesn't.
The whole game just keeps on about this one basic idea, saying the same thing again and again.
A more "true-to-game" version of the line would probably be:
"I'M GOING TO PUT PEOPLE IN IT. THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY PIGS. PIGS ARE PEOPLE. THE PIGS I KEEP REFERRING TO ARE ACTUALLY PEOPLE WHOM I DESPISE. THE WORLD IS AN AWFUL PLACE SO I'M GOING TO KILL THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, PROCESS THEIR MEAT, AND FEED THEM TO OTHER PEOPLE."
And it doesn't stop there.
One of the best things about the original game (The Dark Descent) was the way it told it's story, obviously the main character of each game has amnesia so they know as much as you do, going into the game for the first time.
In Dark Descent the story is told mainly through flashes of resurfacing memories and pages of diaries and notebooks, the most important notes are narrated for you and have soft, atmospheric music and sound effects in the background. These REALLY help you get a feel for the story, and keep up the pace really well while not rushing.
AMFP, however, just has un-narrated notes and the occasional thought from the protagonist. And the notes are a BIG problem as there is a MASSIVE OVER-SATURATION OF THEM. In DD, the notes were semi-rare finds every few levels, were short and to the point. AMFP has notes in every other damn room and each one is an over written chore to read. This actually makes reading story related material in a story driven game a CHORE. I would audibly sigh every time I found a new note and opened it up to find a massive wall of archaic text that might as well read
"I PUT PEOPLE IN IT. IT WAS DIFFICULT BUT I GOT THE FACTORY RUNNING AND I PUT PEOPLE IN IT. BTW MY KIDS ARE DEAD, I WONDER IF I, THE MASS-MURDERING MAN WITH AMNESIA, HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT? PIGS ARE PEOPLE PIGS ARE PEOPLE."
Unlike the original, AMFP is INCREDIBLY linear, this together with the lack of ANY strategic gameplay (lamp oil and tinder boxes have been removed, puzzle solving has been stripped right down to: find the only movable object in the room to use with the piece of set dressing that's blocking progression, and even hiding from the fucking monsters has basically been removed) basically turns the game into a haunted house ride.
All of this said, the game very nearly makes up for it with it's heavy, tension thick atmosphere and incredible sound design and music.
I wouldn't say it was a disappointment, but a HEAVILY flawed gem.
The problem with AMFP is overkill, every point the game tries to make ends up being hammered home like there's no tomorrow. If you watched the second trailer for the game you already understand what the game is about, at the end of it an exchange between two characters pretty much spells it out. Here's a synopsis:
"Oh BTW, Mandus, there aren't enough pigs for your mass slaughtering automated meat factory."
"That depends on what one considers to be a pig."
That one line and the way it's delivered tells you everything you need to know. He's implying that actual pigs aren't the only thing going in his machine, and that he'll probably end up feeding people into it. It's a perfect line for the trailer, which hints that the rest of the game will expand on this idea.
SPOILER WARNING
It doesn't.
The whole game just keeps on about this one basic idea, saying the same thing again and again.
A more "true-to-game" version of the line would probably be:
"I'M GOING TO PUT PEOPLE IN IT. THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY PIGS. PIGS ARE PEOPLE. THE PIGS I KEEP REFERRING TO ARE ACTUALLY PEOPLE WHOM I DESPISE. THE WORLD IS AN AWFUL PLACE SO I'M GOING TO KILL THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, PROCESS THEIR MEAT, AND FEED THEM TO OTHER PEOPLE."
And it doesn't stop there.
One of the best things about the original game (The Dark Descent) was the way it told it's story, obviously the main character of each game has amnesia so they know as much as you do, going into the game for the first time.
In Dark Descent the story is told mainly through flashes of resurfacing memories and pages of diaries and notebooks, the most important notes are narrated for you and have soft, atmospheric music and sound effects in the background. These REALLY help you get a feel for the story, and keep up the pace really well while not rushing.
AMFP, however, just has un-narrated notes and the occasional thought from the protagonist. And the notes are a BIG problem as there is a MASSIVE OVER-SATURATION OF THEM. In DD, the notes were semi-rare finds every few levels, were short and to the point. AMFP has notes in every other damn room and each one is an over written chore to read. This actually makes reading story related material in a story driven game a CHORE. I would audibly sigh every time I found a new note and opened it up to find a massive wall of archaic text that might as well read
"I PUT PEOPLE IN IT. IT WAS DIFFICULT BUT I GOT THE FACTORY RUNNING AND I PUT PEOPLE IN IT. BTW MY KIDS ARE DEAD, I WONDER IF I, THE MASS-MURDERING MAN WITH AMNESIA, HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT? PIGS ARE PEOPLE PIGS ARE PEOPLE."
Unlike the original, AMFP is INCREDIBLY linear, this together with the lack of ANY strategic gameplay (lamp oil and tinder boxes have been removed, puzzle solving has been stripped right down to: find the only movable object in the room to use with the piece of set dressing that's blocking progression, and even hiding from the fucking monsters has basically been removed) basically turns the game into a haunted house ride.
All of this said, the game very nearly makes up for it with it's heavy, tension thick atmosphere and incredible sound design and music.
I wouldn't say it was a disappointment, but a HEAVILY flawed gem.
Saturday, 2 November 2013
A Nation Decays
That's a title I came up with a few hours ago, not sure what it will be the title FOR yet but we'll see.
A long time ago I decided I wanted to write a book of short horror stories called The Limb Orchestra Vol. 1. Since that never really took off (I would constantly be starting stories and never finishing them), I've just now decided how instead to approach the idea.
I hereby announce THE LIMB ORCHESTRA BLOG.
Shorter stories in the form of blog entries.
The fact that they're in blog form has no baring on the stories however, it's just a convenient way of publishing them.
Here it is: http://thelimborchestra.blogspot.co.uk/
Actual stories coming soon, such as:
Caves of Arkham (working title)
The Whimpering In The Attic
A Nation Decays (because why not)
In The Dark
And of course...
The Limb Orchestra
All inspired my the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Phillip K. Dick and countless others.
Happy Horror.
A long time ago I decided I wanted to write a book of short horror stories called The Limb Orchestra Vol. 1. Since that never really took off (I would constantly be starting stories and never finishing them), I've just now decided how instead to approach the idea.
I hereby announce THE LIMB ORCHESTRA BLOG.
Shorter stories in the form of blog entries.
The fact that they're in blog form has no baring on the stories however, it's just a convenient way of publishing them.
Here it is: http://thelimborchestra.blogspot.co.uk/
Actual stories coming soon, such as:
Caves of Arkham (working title)
The Whimpering In The Attic
A Nation Decays (because why not)
In The Dark
And of course...
The Limb Orchestra
All inspired my the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Phillip K. Dick and countless others.
Happy Horror.
Friday, 19 April 2013
People, They Frustrate Me Endlessly.
The title says it all really.
Simply put, I DESPISE it when people take things so seriously they can't have their opinion challenged by a simple joke. What's the point? If we don't have humour in our lives what do we have?
An awful lot of misery, that's what. I hate to seem like a 'negative Nelly', but in life we have to put up with seemingly endless strife, worry, heartbreak, and all kinds of awful situations that can wear people down to nothing as it is. If we were to then deny any kind of relief from such hardships, even to the extent of poking fun at life's less fair moments, there would simply be no one left. Everyone would have ended it all and the human race would be no more.
When life has you in a bad spot, and nothing can be done, why not just laugh? Yes, it is bad. No, it may not get much better. But why should that stop you from FEELING better about it? Taking life with a pinch of salt is often the only way you can put up with it. If you treat every single aspect of our measly, pathetic existence on this shitty bit of Petri Dish debris floating about in space like it's life or death... What do you expect, really? Will moaning at others about how very shit it all is help? Will taking jokes too seriously and snapping at the person help the matter, or potentially ruin a good friendship just because the subject of the joke differs from your own personal opinion?
All life is subjective. We make our own reality by experiencing it through our own eyes. Nothing you see may be the same for anyone else who has ever existed. What you see as red another may see as what you call green.
Nothing may be what it seems.
We live in a universe where, by some astronomical chance, order just happened to spring from chaos.
Our lives are fleeting and very possibly without true meaning.
There is no point to you existing.
Nothing can be predicted in utter chaos.
Reality could end any second now and you're helpless to stop it.
You are all alone in an infinite vacuum of chaos.
So what's the point?
...Because it's a chicken and it has no idea what it's doing.
...
Geddit?
Now go live a full life, free from worry and pain and misery.
And for fuck's sake lighten up.
I love you all. :)
-B
Simply put, I DESPISE it when people take things so seriously they can't have their opinion challenged by a simple joke. What's the point? If we don't have humour in our lives what do we have?
An awful lot of misery, that's what. I hate to seem like a 'negative Nelly', but in life we have to put up with seemingly endless strife, worry, heartbreak, and all kinds of awful situations that can wear people down to nothing as it is. If we were to then deny any kind of relief from such hardships, even to the extent of poking fun at life's less fair moments, there would simply be no one left. Everyone would have ended it all and the human race would be no more.
When life has you in a bad spot, and nothing can be done, why not just laugh? Yes, it is bad. No, it may not get much better. But why should that stop you from FEELING better about it? Taking life with a pinch of salt is often the only way you can put up with it. If you treat every single aspect of our measly, pathetic existence on this shitty bit of Petri Dish debris floating about in space like it's life or death... What do you expect, really? Will moaning at others about how very shit it all is help? Will taking jokes too seriously and snapping at the person help the matter, or potentially ruin a good friendship just because the subject of the joke differs from your own personal opinion?
All life is subjective. We make our own reality by experiencing it through our own eyes. Nothing you see may be the same for anyone else who has ever existed. What you see as red another may see as what you call green.
Nothing may be what it seems.
We live in a universe where, by some astronomical chance, order just happened to spring from chaos.
Our lives are fleeting and very possibly without true meaning.
There is no point to you existing.
Nothing can be predicted in utter chaos.
Reality could end any second now and you're helpless to stop it.
You are all alone in an infinite vacuum of chaos.
So what's the point?
...Because it's a chicken and it has no idea what it's doing.
...
Geddit?
Now go live a full life, free from worry and pain and misery.
And for fuck's sake lighten up.
I love you all. :)
-B
Friday, 6 July 2012
So... This is awkward.
Remember in the days of old, where people set out to accomplish a cool idea they had and kept promises they made via said idea?
Fuck the old days.
I WAS going to write about, as promised in the first post, my thoughts on SEGA ruining a cool video game character (Shadow The Hedgehog), but I got bored of it almost as soon as I started writing it.
So fuck it.
I have no idea what to write about instead, so I'll just throw some facts and figures at you... The reader. Yes you. Obviously. You are the one reading it after all. Lord knows why you are... I probably coerced you into doing so anyway, so you probably know a lot of what I'm about to start banging on about already, and you probably don't care too much.
But fuck it.
Life is pretty good at the moment, I've got a decent band or two... possibly three or four, I have more time to focus on stuff that interests me (at the moment: writing and music making) and I have a totally awesome and gorgeous girlfriend. Who is awesome. And gorgeous. Yes.
You enjoying your self there? No? Fuck you then.
In terms of personal music making, I feel I'm a bit stuck. I mainly make Electronic music of sorts, usually House (as it's fairly easy to make it sound ok), but whenever I try to make something more "song-like" it ends up sounding like Steven Hawkings falling down stairs made of Horse cocks and Fiber Glass while twenty thousand ovens violently explode one after the other in quick succession to the tune of "Another One Bites The Dust". Which is to say: It sounds a bit shit.
Never mind eh?
I'm bored and tired now.
Fuck off.
-B
Fuck the old days.
I WAS going to write about, as promised in the first post, my thoughts on SEGA ruining a cool video game character (Shadow The Hedgehog), but I got bored of it almost as soon as I started writing it.
So fuck it.
I have no idea what to write about instead, so I'll just throw some facts and figures at you... The reader. Yes you. Obviously. You are the one reading it after all. Lord knows why you are... I probably coerced you into doing so anyway, so you probably know a lot of what I'm about to start banging on about already, and you probably don't care too much.
But fuck it.
Life is pretty good at the moment, I've got a decent band or two... possibly three or four, I have more time to focus on stuff that interests me (at the moment: writing and music making) and I have a totally awesome and gorgeous girlfriend. Who is awesome. And gorgeous. Yes.
You enjoying your self there? No? Fuck you then.
In terms of personal music making, I feel I'm a bit stuck. I mainly make Electronic music of sorts, usually House (as it's fairly easy to make it sound ok), but whenever I try to make something more "song-like" it ends up sounding like Steven Hawkings falling down stairs made of Horse cocks and Fiber Glass while twenty thousand ovens violently explode one after the other in quick succession to the tune of "Another One Bites The Dust". Which is to say: It sounds a bit shit.
Never mind eh?
I'm bored and tired now.
Fuck off.
-B
Monday, 20 February 2012
Chapter One: A Totally Un-Pretentious Introduction
Hello.
On the Internet I go by many names; NanaPharcyde, the23rdmonkey, Mohawk23, Sollis R and, occasionally, "M".
You can call me The Baron, it's a nickname of sorts.
On this Blog I'll be writing, not about myself (usually anyway), but simply about the things that interest me.
The main subjects I'll likely cover are Music, Film, Video Games, Television, Books and life in general.
The first thing I'll write about (which will be the first proper post on here) will be the decline in quality of a certain character in a Video Game series that is particularly close to my heart.
I'll see you then Baronettes!
- B
On the Internet I go by many names; NanaPharcyde, the23rdmonkey, Mohawk23, Sollis R and, occasionally, "M".
You can call me The Baron, it's a nickname of sorts.
On this Blog I'll be writing, not about myself (usually anyway), but simply about the things that interest me.
The main subjects I'll likely cover are Music, Film, Video Games, Television, Books and life in general.
The first thing I'll write about (which will be the first proper post on here) will be the decline in quality of a certain character in a Video Game series that is particularly close to my heart.
I'll see you then Baronettes!
- B
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