The project I’ve worked on for the past year at Double Helix Games has now been released: it’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the multi-platform game tied to the movie by the same name. I can honestly say it’s been an interesting and educative experience, from which I’ve learned a lot.

Reviews of the game so far have been mixed, some recognizing its merits as well as its flaws, others unmercifully bashing it. Amongst the various observations there have been some which were quite superficial, one review even going so far as attacking Dennis Quaid (who plays General Hawk in the movie) and the rest of the movie cast specifically for the quality of their voice acting in the game; which would be an opinion any reviewer could be entitled to, if not for the fact that neither Mr. Quaid nor the rest of the cast (with the exception of Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1)) lent their voice to our game. If anything, this critique should probably be a testament to how good a Dennis Quaid the actual voice actor who plays Hawk in the game is.

Another funny remark has stated how the accompanying soundtrack is “ripped off” the movie, when in reality it was specifically composed for the game and skillfully executed by an orchestra (anyone could have confirmed that with minimal research). In my opinion it is in fact one of the best features of this game. In addition, I’m still looking for this mysterious “lava level” some reviewers mentioned; I certainly cannot remember it being part of the product at any point during the development.

Granted, The Rise of Cobra has some flaws, which clearly could not and did not go unnoticed; however, my personal opinion is the game still manages to offer a good dose of fun, particularly if played in co-op with a friend at Advanced or Hardcore difficulty. And I believe fun is half the battle.

(1) see game credits.

I’m already helping with the development of a game that is, as of yet, unannounced. All I can say is that I do like the ideas that the designers are placing together, and how it’s coming along; I may be able to talk more about it after it’s announced to the public, something that should happen in the near future. For the moment, I will just remind you that Silent Hill: Homecoming, another game developed by Double Helix and published by Konami, will be released soon and you should check it out.

• thank the people who made this possible: check;
• toast to the future: check;
• post about the news: in progress.

I’m aware I’m not disclosing many details, but that is part of my habit. I hope to return to this blog more often in the near future though, to get closer to the frequency and variety of posts that it had before, and maybe soon offer a broader vision of what’s going on. Come visit me again and maybe we can chat over some coffee.

Death by black hole and other cosmic quandaries, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, 384 pages, published by W. W. Norton - ISBN-13: 978-0-393-06224-3 - this book is a collection of essays on the cosmos written by an astrophysicist who has the gift of being able to render complex concepts, such as the inner workings of black holes (or what is currently understood about them) or the Doppler effect, very clear without trivializing them in the process. And, as the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, he also knows what he’s talking about. I find his presentations always enlightening and at the same time very user-friendly.

3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development, by Fletcher Dunn and Ian Parberry, 476 pages, published by Wordware Publishing - ISBN-13: 978-1-55622-911-4 - for some reason I did not have a specific, introductory book on 3D mathematics, and although I have managed to live without one by studying information in other books and/or the Net, I’ve been wanting for some time to find all such information neatly collected in one spot. This book may be what I was looking for, as it spans from the basics of coordinate systems up to and including space partitioning techniques, and contrary to similar books on 3D math it explains the concepts rather than just presenting results. Moreover it intermixes formulas, figures and code samples (rather than relegating code to a CD for example) in a way that I find useful for keeping the focus on the matter that is being read at any given time.

More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs, by Scott Meyers, 336 pages, published by Addison-Wesley Professional - ISBN-13: 978-0-201-63371-9 - there is not much to say about this book than is not already known. If you really want to learn C++ (much beyond simply syntax), and you’ve liked the previous book by Meyers on the subject (”Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs” - wait, if you really want to learn C++, then you must have read that one and loved it by now), then this is for you, too. Covering more advanced techniques than the first in the series, it will be a useful addition to your library.

It’s hot outside, stay home and read a book. Unless it’s Winter where you live, in that case you can start over with my wintry recommendations ("Books for the Fall of Winter").

“WARNING: This product contains bromate, known to the state of California to cause cancer.” Ahhh, sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Must be a boon to sales and a real killer at parties (or a few years after drinking it at those parties). First of all let me say I’m thankful for Californian laws that force the disclosure of such “details” (hence the warning), or I doubt we would even know at this point. A quick search on Wikipedia shows that a bromate is, in fact, a chemical compound that is a suspected carcinogen whose mere presence induced Coca Cola to recall its Dasani water products from the UK in 2004, and further pushed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to discard 600 million gallons of water from the Silver Lake and Elysian reservoirs between 2007 and 2008.

I don’t know if Ms. Rowley was aware of the issue before she decided to endorse these products, but I don’t really care; I’m sure, on the other hand, that Target must be quite aware of this, as they’ve happily put their brand on this new collection and distribute it on their own (as the label clearly specifies). This strikes me as odd in itself, as I was under the impression that Target products were at least a little better than this; it also makes me wonder how many other food products, whether in this collection or not, contain similar tasty treats. Either way, Target generally allows customers 90 days to return products they’re dissatisfied with, and it definitely won’t take us that long to return this party margarita mix. Cancer may be fashionable, but over here we’re simple people, nostalgic and attached to long-time classics such as trying to stay alive and healthy.

Edited on May 26 at 3:50 PM to add: After we e-mailed Target about our dissatisfaction with the product, they promptly apologized and sent us two $3.00 coupons as a reimbursement. While that’s appreciated, it is as of yet unclear whether they’re going to re-examine the product in question or not.