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| Project: Snowblind by Fussbett 03/07/2005, 1:47am PST | ||||
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VH1's "Bands Reunited" is a show that ambushes old "where are they now?" musicians in an attempt to reunite estranged members of bands from the 80's for a one-off gig. It's a decent show to watch if you're a music fan, or if you're old enough to know the bands, or if you're in a band, or if you haven't spoken to your brother in 20 years like the brothers in Flock of Seagulls.
 Bands Reunited did an episode on Information Society and they tracked the singer down at his Crystal Dynamics job where he was working on the sound for Project: Snowblind. Running in with the lights and camera, VH1 asks "Kurt Harland, what are you doing!?!" Thinking it was some sort of gaming press, Kurt replies "Well... This is 3D Studio Max 6. I am using it to create what we call 'sound volumes'. I basically match the architecture of the environment in which the player is with boxes, and these boxes then control how sound propagates (or doesn't) around the environment. This allows us to set up a sort of simulated occlusion, and..." I first learned about Project: Snowblind from Kurt Harland's angry recount of how VH1 fucked and misrepresented him (and he hates TV). It's a good read because just like in real life, there are no good or bad guys, just Kurt's painfully juvenile anti-establishmentism, and VH1's evil entertainment industry manipulation and doublespeak. It ends well, with Kurt going to Burning Man and continuing his 8 year no-TV streak and VH1 still being on the air, later giving us the very fun Surreal Life season 4. The second thing I learned about Project: Snowblind is that it was originally going to be a Deus Ex spin off game of some sort, but now merely takes place in the Deus Ex universe. Or something. I don't know anything about Deus Ex, but fortunately I've seen Blade Runner and imagined what William Gibson novels are about, so I didn't feel out of place in this dystopian asian future where your skin can be glowing blue circuitry. The final thing I learned about Project: Snowblind was that I couldn't care less about this good looking PS2 first person shooter. Clausterphobic linear invisible trigger shooters last only a couple of hours in my machine. Maybe deep into neo-China the game turns into a wide open emergent and varied piece of brilliance, with ragdolls flying to and fro because of my augs which slow down bullets and time. I wouldn't know. All I know is the beginning when I fought my way through several HALLWAYS, shooting stationary enemies (or enemies that would sometimes run to THEIR SPOT), and instead of boring old ragdolls, you get upwards of one stilted death animation for each enemy. Action role playing as Lieutenant Iceman "Cool Breeze" Frost in Project: Snowblind was a boring exercise of following strict orders, and I felt I could spend my time better elsewhere. A truly military experience. I didn't try the multiplayer but I invite you to go fuck yourself. On the upside, the 'sound volumes' occluded perfectly. Kudos, Kurt Harland. |
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Project: Snowblind by 03/07/2005, 1:47am PST  BIG REACTION TO THIS REVIEW ON THE INTERNET (AIM) by 03/07/2005, 8:48am PST I still have their hit record. by 03/07/2005, 1:06pm PST (PURE ENERGY) NT by 03/07/2005, 8:09pm PST DUNT...DUNT... dunt, dunt, dunt dunt. (pure energy) NT by 03/07/2005, 11:04pm PST |
