What’s the hottest craze that’s hitting gamers all around the world and made one programmer seriously swimming in a paradise of Euros (and starting his very own gaming studio with all that cash~)?
Minecraft.
The graphics are pixelated and rudimentary, the polygon counts are atrocious and without a mission or aim within the gameplay, what makes this game so special (and it’s creator so bloody rich)?
Let’s see..
Or say, if you’re a fan of Inception, here’s an Inception-inspired teaser..
Rudimentary and kiddish, I know, but there’s definitely a kid in all of us that’s waiting to be unleashed on a sandbox of infinite possibilities.
Indeed that there’s no mission or anything to be accomplished to ‘end’ the game, because there really isn’t an end to the gameworld of Minecraft.
Think of it like The Sims, an open world, except you don’t age (but you do get to possibly die when the bad guys come after you~).
As of this post, there’s just over 600,000 purchases for the game, which makes the creator, Markus Persson, richer by more than 6 Million (Dollars/Euros/Rupees?.. who cares~) ever since the game launched (for free back then) on 10th May 2009.
Talk about an indie developer’s success story, and those figures sure beat being an iphone or ipad developer, cos Markus nets every single dime of every purchase of his simple game — he built it himself, market it himself and sold the game himself.
A cool profit margin of 100%, but is it really that simple?
Yes it is that simple, and almost like what I’ve mentioned in my previous post, the game is very simple, but it’s the people that makes it go beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
Of course games like Minecraft won’t put the big boys like Valve and Blizzard into bankruptcy, but hey, at least it’s making them notice that in an age where technology pushes you to go into a race for the best graphics cards, it really is all about the gaming experience after all.
The two trailers should sufficely show you what the game is all about, and if you’re still clueless, then play the free version (Minecraft Classic) for yourself and see how it goes.
Or you could purchase Minecraft Alpha (50% off at the moment) and see what the fuss is all about, plus it won’t hurt to support a fellow indie developer right?
Minecraft, the best thing since slice bread.
Hmmm, time to go back into my mining world and slash some zombies, meanwhile I’ll see you in your world eh?
I guess I’ve yet to grow up if growing up is all about dealing with the issues that you face in life, and there are issues that I face in life that I’ve yet to face up to, like relationships, for example.
Relationships are simple, but unfortunately people aren’t.
There are those whom I’ve crossed paths with that claim to be disillusioned with love (and relationships) and losing faith in it, but why should you lose faith in love and all its glory when it’s really people that’s wrecking everything?
Me? I’ll always believed in that elusive and shy thingy called love and as such, I’ll never turn away from a fresh start.
I’m pious when it comes to second chances, and the notion that people can change for the better, because I’ve seen how people can change when you give them a reason to.
Anyway, about this hiatus, let’s start with the most recent event and that is my NS Reservist training with my unit, and it sure feels damn good to have a break from the chaos that is work and to meet up with old, familiar faces.
I love my unit, I really do, and I think I’m blessed with such a cohesive bunch of men from all walks of life, and indeed it’s been a privilege to serve my time with them.
Strangely I don’t need any forcing to make myself sleep before 10pm during my NS period, because as soon as I reach home from camp, which is about 8-9pm, I immediately lay down on my bed and the next thing I know, it’s 5.30am and it’s time to get ready for camp again.
For 4 and a half days, life was so, and yesterday I was back at the office, and I realised that the company can, and doing it well too, cope without me around — and this is definitely a great piece of news for me!
It means I can finally go on that long awaited sabbatical next year, which when you think about it, is my 7th year of plundering along in this industry.
I have longed for a chance to diverse myself into another industry and last year, when I thought that I’ve found one, events unfolded itself this year to wreck all my plans and resources and, like a beached whale, I’m left stranded and seemingly helpless.
Like I said earlier, relationships are simple, but people aren’t and unfortunately for me I fall hopelessly in love ever so easily.
And because I keep my faith that love is possible and that in its essence it’s a beautiful thing to give and share, I trip up ever so often as I allow myself to dive in easily, and maybe hastily as well.
Like my passion for gaming, soccer, studying, working and everything that I do, I tend to dive right in and try to be as good and as effective as I can, but I’ve learned that not everyone plays it the way I do.
Some like to take it slow, and some are just shy. *winks*
No matter how similar and compatible two people can be, there’s always a black swan lurking, and until both parties are able to embrace one another, the black swan lurks quietly.
The trouble with being a simple person, is that you think that everyone else is simple too.
And then when you get your heart broken again, and again, and again, you know that you’re still that good and simple person, but you learn to lookout for yourself a little bit more and you learn to make your heart a little bit colder.
Like a tattoo that’s never easily erased, relationship scars, but it’s definitely worth every little precious moments spent with, the ones whoose path you’re blessed to have walked on and been a part of.
And then sometimes, you just know that you can’t stay on that path any longer.
With a heavy, fragmented and tourniqueted heart, I go.
I can’t waste time.. So give it a moment.. I realize nothing’s broken..
No need to worry about everything I’ve done.. Live every second like it was my last one.. Tattoo by Jordin Sparks
(Damn emo blog has been lately lah, but I guess that’s a part of what blogging’s all about? Chronicling it out into the empty space when there’s just nowhere else to turn to. Life gets unexpectedly lonely, when it really shouldn’t be. But when people keep to themselves, you just can’t run away from it.
On a side note, this gaming addiction that I’m on stops me from thinking about the issues that I’m facing. I guess I’m still a kid inside. Heh.)
An unintended hiatus that I’m back from, but it’s really just me unable to find words.
Funny how you keep writing all these years and yet words slip like a worn out, old shoe on a rainy day.
You just can’t run with ’em.
Thankfully there are songs that says it all, like Sum 41’s Pieces:
I tried to be perfect, but it just wasn’t worth it.. nothing could ever be so wrong.
It never gets easy.. I guess I knew that all along.
(More lyrics – Listen to MP3)
And you’ve sincerely tried.
And you’ve sincerely tried.
And for when you know you’ve sincerely tried and gotten misunderstood, then there’s Marinas Trench’s Say Anything, live version. Raw emotions.
I never took you for a trip but sometimes.. I don’t know what you want.
I can take it if you need to take this.. out on someone.
(More lyrics – Listen to MP3)
And you breathe again.
And you breathe again.
And for when it hurts you to stay and kills you to leave, there’s Sara Bareilles’ Breathe Again, which makes me sober all over.
Still I’m searching for something.. Out of breathe I am left hoping someday.
I’ll breathe again.. I’ll breathe again.
(More lyrics — Listen to MP3)
The titanic sank, even though thousands believed that it was unsinkable, but too bad they saw the iceberg late.
There wasn’t any iceberg at Goodison park but a similar kind of sinking feeling reeks.
Everton thrashed, humbled, massacred, guillotined, outplayed, outwitted, outhungered, and defeated Liverpool, and is in 11th place instead of 18th, after lashing two goals past hapless Reina and Co.
It’s like when your child barely passing his exams and you say “Not bad, good job.”
And when someone points out that he nearly fails, you deflect the blame from you saying you have no idea how it happened and that he should have performed better.
Wouldn’t a better reaction be to accept your failures or shortcomings as a parent or guiding mentor and then taking actions to make things better?
Bloody hell, that child needs protection, guidance and leadership and all it gets is “He should have done better” ?
Dear Roy, if accumulating losses equates to “my team’s best performance and we did well” then Liverpool FC is in dire need of a more ambitious manager.
Why the hell did they sack Rafa, who so happens to lead his team at the top of Serie A currently?
Bring Rafa (Or Dalglish) back, or at least his winning ways, otherwise I see a Red ship that’s sinking slowly, and nothing is being done about it.
Tell me, what do you do with an architect that designs poorly, an engineer that constructs with his angles mistaken or a surgeon that operates the wrong areas?
I’ll get real, that the ship is sinking, but the lifebuoys and lifeboats aren’t even being prepared for deployment.
I really hate to say this: Congrats Everton, the better team won. and will probably stay up.
I’m not Arabic, nor pious, but it’s not that hard to understand what the Arabic words “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon” means, and it’s a phrase that Muslims say whenever news of a passing reaches their ears.
It’s a phrase that I’ve heard aplenty and murmured at the passing a a loved one, and it strikes you hard, for it reminds you that life is a privilege.
Life is a gift, an opportunity or a present that we’re fortunate to have, but sometimes it’s taken away from you and there’s really nothing you can do, but grief and recover.
Ellya, my poly classmate, whom I have fond memories of as a cheerful and energetic girl, happened to be the daughter of one of Singapore’s footballing icon in the early 70s, Dollah Kassim or affectionately known as the ‘Gelek King’.
He passed away this morning, after suffering a heart attack during an exhibition soccer game, while the wake was held at Sultan Mosque and the burial proceeded later on in the day, and though I couldn’t make it to offer my condolences in person, I wish her family and herself great care.
If there’s one thing I may wish to say to a grieving family, it is to grieve as you wish and to cry as you should, and while I will adviose to be strong and to keep moving on, go ahead and cry your hearts out.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon — To him we all belong; and to him we will return.
Don’t we all lament on the predicaments, or curveballs, that life throws our way?
Always, only two things will result from this.
1) They choose to add colourful verbal adjectives to match their predicaments and continuously rack up the ‘bad luck’..
Or..
2) They choose to work real hard to change their fortunes, come what may.
Out of 10 persons that I know, perhaps as many as 1 person chose to change their own fortunes.
To their credit, they’re always happier, not just with themselves, but also with their surrounding environment and situation.
It’s not that hard to recognise them, cos in fact, you’re naturally drawn to them.
These are the ones who accept any inadequacies that they have, and work on their strengths and live life knowing how lucky they are to be born into this world.
What happened to the other 9, that feels that they’re consistently unlucky, that they wish they’re born into a rich family or something like that?
Or perhaps wishing that they’re born to another family, in another time, in another place.
Some of us are born lucky, while some are lucky to be born.
One of the statement, we can’t choose, but the other we can choose to embrace its intent.
I’m bloody lucky to be born, so what about you — which shoe do you choose to walk with?
I met my first love back when I was working in a bakery shop, juggling freshman year, footballing commitments and my newfound addiction to gaming.
Though I’m no longer a freshman, I’m still committed to my football and the gaming addiction continues, but most importantly: my first love has always remained.
The love for Pecan Cinnamon Rolls, or Pecan Rolls.
Just reminiscing it, brings back memories of that sweetly burnt wafts as you open the oven doors to fetch the rolls of perfectly risen Pecan Cinnamon pastries.
The crunchy texture and crispy outer layers, fresh and hot from the oven is the universe’s only Wonder Of The World to any tastebuds — unless of course you’re sickly allergic to nuts, of which in that case, too bad.
>.<
I used to work in a bakery shoppe (St Cinnamon) and the best tasting, fastest moving and most expensive item on the menulist has always been Pecan Roll, with it’s excessively juicy and sweet smelling goodness all rolled into one succulent, opulent and permanent joy.
Yummy, and I was always the one who made it known to everyone that the Pecan Roll is mine at the end of the day, in case there’s any leftover when we close shop.
There never was any leftover, and I’d be left yearning for just one more bite.
And I’m still yearning all these while, as the pastry company has since folded and I’ve yet to meet it’s match among the many banquet spreads I’ve been to.
However if you’re like me, and feels the need to heed the yearning, The Pioneer Woman has a great recipe for you (or your loved ones) to succumb to.
If you’re like me, where you’re not smart, not talented, not skilled, not gifted, not attractive, not blessed and you wish to change your derailing fortunes, well then try doing this:
Work extra hard in doing the right things.
That’s right, you don’t just do work and you don’t just work hard, but you work extra hard.
Who’s smarter: The person who reads 99 books or the person who reads the same books, plus an additional 1 extra book?
Does being talented, skilled or gifted means being born with it, or does it mean putting in a few more hours of extra practice rounds in doing what you do?
My sister, cousins and friends, well they all had issues with finding a job, just like you, me and everybody else.
The issue is actually not so much of landing a job, but landing one that you feel suits you best.
That elusive ideal job.
Nobody is spared the hassle nor the torture of finding that ideal job, and it’s heart-breakingly true when I say that the ideal job will not land itself on our doorstep or window panes as we open them up to let the Sunday morning sun shine through.
I’ve come to an agreement, after years of debating with myself that it’s never the academics achievement that will truly land you the job that your heart desires.
Simply because your heart doesn’t know what it truly desires until it has experienced it for itself, and just for the records, if I had 10 children, I do wish that they would all be able to grab a hotseat at a University and fulfil, as much as possible, their academics opportunities.
Of course should they fail so, I would gladly point out to them that academics isn’t everything.
With no disrespect to Professor Randy Pausch, he was originally declined admission into his desired University based on their judgements of his academics performance, but thanks to a very passionate mentor of his, who had a very good friend inside that University, he was given a second look — and not only did he went on to become a professor for that University, he kickstarted a movement, got an official day and achieved numerous childhood dreams.
It’s not always a case of WHAT you know, but rather of WHO you know, and Professor Randy Pausch knew the right people at the right time, as he amassed bridges while accelerating through life.
So what do you do if you find yourself languishing feebly in the search for that ideal job?
Well, if Professor Randy Pausch is of any esteemed benchmark, stop kicking yourself, get out there, get things done and start building lifebridges, a term which I don’t even know exist or not but hey it’s pretty much self-explanatory.
Continuously be on the lookout for new lifebridges, mend and maintain existing ones while don’t ever leave any burning, because you’ll never know which one might just lead you to that ideal job you’ve been looking for.
In laymen terms, start taking actions.
Anyway, if it so happens that your ideal job miraculously landed on your doorsteps-slash-window pane, I’d so love to know of it.
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