So yeah, it’s nearly the end of August and being completely honest, I haven’t had a lot to write about up until now.   For starters, I’ve finally managed to pick up DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 3, Lego Rock Band and Beatles Rock Band, all of which I’ve been wanting for ages.  The Rock Band games were brand new though the DJ Hero was second hand (and much cheaper than anywhere else!).  where possible, I am trying to buy second hand, but the issue is that sometimes brand new is cheaper than second hand, so I have to save my money.  Rock Band 3 is on the horizon, and there will be no doubts as to me getting it, especially with the fact it now includes a keyboard controller, which quite honestly has me drooling like a hungry dog in a butchers.  It’ll be great to be able to play another game that lets me learn on a keyboard, given I have plans to learn it.  Synthesia is a good thing, but I do think I might need something a little, well… easier to start with, plus I think I need some additional support, though that said having a 25 key keyboard is a good thing on the basis that I can start off with a handful of keys, then work my way up.  Besides that, I also have plans to start up a band with a friend of mine, though it’s not likely to take off properly for some time; more details on this later on.

I did also manage to pick up a few PC games as well, for quite cheap.  I got myself Evolva, Mass Effect, Star Trek: Borg and Space Empires V and with the exception of the ST game, they were all new!  I ended up spending a lot on games the past week or so nut they were so cheap I couldn’t help myself!  Staying on the subject of PCs, my desktop has developed a slight issue where one of my SATA power connectors has broken so I can only have one hard drive going at a time, which quite frankly sucks.  Thje laptop isn’t fareing well either, given that the screen has gone all funny on it.  I do hope it’s just a loose connection because otherwise I’m going to have to shell out for a new laptop, given the gfx card replacement is a good 200-odd Pounds!  Thankfully, my desktop problem is only a couple of quid to fix, though I might get a spare one, in case it falls down again.  In case you’re wondering how it fell, it was simply a case of me getting tangled up with my mouse lead and pulling on the desktop and knocking it down.  Thankfully, it was just that which was damaged… the hard drives seem to be fine which I consider a small miracle.  Not that I could afford to replace them at all.  Not the best week for my computers, is it?
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I really need to give my LiveJournal some love at some point, seeing as it’s supposed to be a more personal blog, as opposed to this one which is more for sharing my views, insights and generally having a rant. Anyway, I spent Saturday and much of Sunday at my friend’s house, where we played Rock Band 2. And I have to admit, I’m pretty hooked on the game now! I also got to play quite a few songs on there including Color Theory’s song If Not Now When and some other songs such as Attack and The Kill from 30STM. I was really impressed with the game to be honest, as you could really get into it… I certainly found it easier to play the bass or guitar standing anyway! I was so into the game, that I started dancing while I was playing! And thinking about it, playing the guitar in any of these games, be it Rock Band, Guitar Hero or even Band Hero, no matter what the format, is a great way of learning to play the proper thing. Why do I say this you ask? Well, I have some books on learning how to play the guitar and from what I recall of them, you’re to hold an actual guitar a certain way and with the guitar controller, it works best if you hold it the same way. Playing with the controller (GH controllers are more durable) gives you a great start with playing an actual guitar because you have to hold the controller like you would a normal guitar, so it gets you used to the awkwardness of your hand being put into and awkward position when fretting.

Admittedly though, it won’t help your fingers get used to pressing on the strings… that’s something you’ll have to face later on and they do tend to make your fingers hurt for a while because the strings are pressing into your fingers. I haven’t played with an actual guitar long enough to be able to get protection from the strings as of yet, although the guitar isn’t my instrument of choice at present; that honour belongs to my keyboard (the piano type), which I’ve decided to learn first as it’s a little easier to get into. I’ve actually paid for the learning pack for Synthesia to help me in this goal. It’s much like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the like, but it uses a keyboard or MIDI synthesiser instead. Admittedly, I’ve not touched it for a while now, but my Rock Band jam session has both rekindled the interest and also made me want to get Rock Band as well! I’m looking at getting the Band Hero Super Bundle, which is 100 quid in HMV at the moment, seeing as it has all the instruments I need to get me started, although the drums are a concern; would they be compatible with Rock Band? I know the guitar is compatible, and the mic should be as well, but I’m not sure about the drums. As for why I’m worried about this, I really don’t want to get another set of drums just so I can play all the games! One thing I noticed though that one of my friends would be happy with is the fact that the Band Hero drumkit has 3 drums, with 2 cymbals, I think they are those anyway. It still has the pedal, but that said, I don’t think it would be used as much in Rock Band, so his foot won’t hurt so much!

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Oddly enough, I’m not actually sure what exactly to talk about for this entry as I haven’t thought about any specifics.  I expect it may not be till near enough to the New Year, or after that I get to keep some consistancy.  Either way, it won’t hurt to mention any stuff I’ve seen, done or are going to do.  I’m also thinking that I may end up keeping my random style of writing to a degree, as it wouldn’t be random randomness if I didn’t!  Anyhow, I went into Central London yesterday to pick up a lab coat (I’ll explain later) from Foyles bookshop and ended bup buying a few books too!  This is by no means a bad thing to be honest, as the books will have some benefit.  Two of the books are talking about games design or project management regarding games projects.  I figured that these would be good for me to get so I can brush up on this subject in preparation for university/college.  Granted, design is my strongest skill, but it never hurts to get help with improving techniques.  I also finally managed to get a book on wolves; this too was one of my medium-term aims along with the lab coat.  I had to aquire an extra large one because of my broad shoulders, although that said, I could do with a little toning round the stomach, so it’s a good thing I’m going to the gym!  As for why I wanted a lab coat… well, I’ve always wanted one and I think it completes the scientist look although there’s the practical purpose that it keeps my clothes clean!

I also paid Maplins a visit as well and got some books on robotics, soldering and electronics, as well as a book on oscilloscopes, which sparked my interest since I studied at Greenwich.  I also got another set of LED Safety Glasses (which are gonna be modded, leaving the first ones I bought intact) and also an Audiophile 2496 audio card, which I was hoping to use for helping me with music composition at a later date, although it would be more nice just to have something professional to use with MIDI.  The problem is however that it needs audio cables, and while I do have them, I don’t have the space for them, so I’m either going to have to locate an external version of the card or make the space.  It’s occurred to me that I have also lost my reciept so I need to goo looking for it, damn.  That aside, I may have to just accept that this may be the best card for my price range (I don’t want to pay a lot more to be honest) and get a Game Port to USB adaptor, which to be honest may not be a bad idea, seeing as they’re cheap enough at 8 quid each!  I really only wanted that expensive card for the built-in MIDI port, and considering I can have a decent audio card with a cheaper separate bit, it may be best off just going down this route.  I have too many game controllers that require Game Ports to just drop the idea; I didn’t realise till much later that I had no MIDI port on my soundcard!  Another bonus as well is that it has some composing software with it, as well as some loops, so that’ll help me some more.

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