The Future Of The Video Game... The Holodeck... Not Yet... But Sooon... - #VideoGame #Blog

Reg Barclay (Dwight Schultz) talking with, 'Professor Moriarity' on the Holodeck in, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'!

Ok, so for those of you who don't know what the Holodeck is... Well it is an interactive room that was first introduced in the popular late 80s, early 90s TV series, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'!

Now the idea behind it is this, you could basically design interactive simulations of any nature that you might want... And they could seem as real as you wanted them to be... You could be surfing off the cost of Hawaii, or fighting an intergalactic war!

Sounds awesome, right?

Well unfortunately we are not there yet... But soon... Here is what I mean...

Target practice on board Voyager's holodeck, 'How cool would that be? 

Ok, so first off let me say this... The biggest hurdle is this... Not all of the technology that is needed for this type of device is invented yet... But there is certainly some, that definitely can give us a good start!

First off, we do have holography... Star Trek level? No... But definitely Star Wars level... I mean I have seen a exhibit that a holographer did, about a dollar that looked so real, that when the exhibit said to try to reach for the dollar, I did... And wouldn't you know it, my hand went right through it!

And well folks, I can see how having holographic communications devices aren't exact very easy, (and probably fairly costly,) I can definitely see how they can be used, in that way, and how they could be used to make the first Holodeck Video Game System!

How awesome is this!

The only thing that hasn't been completely figured out is how to create a forcefield that is flexible enough to make the objects in the holodeck feel solid and permeable... But soon... I hope!

Technology From Movies That Scientists Are Working On Developing ForThe Real World

Someday... This could be a reality!

I don't know if I have told you guys this, but besides being a huge horror and science fiction fan, I am also a huge fan of technology! I mean if used correctly and appropriately, technology can benefit every one the world over, as well as make sure that the planet we live on is still the planet we live on!

With all of that said, I have noticed myself as time has gone on that there has been a very fascinating turn in inventions... That is that at least some inventors have headed in to the realm of, 'Science Fiction' or more directly to Movies and TV Shows when it has come to some of the inventions that these geniuses are working on!

A great example of this is the, 'Tricorder', now this is a device that was originally created as part of the TV/Movie series, 'Star Trek', it is a hand held scanning device that scan through just about anything that it has on record! Now this device once created in the real world, will have far reaching applications! It will revolutionize everything from, 'Science' to, 'Security' and even to, 'Medicine'... And you know what? Scientists are working hard to make it happen!

Seen at the top left hand corner is a tricorder that you could say is the first evolution of what will later become a fully functional real world tricorder that is on par with Star Trek!

As a matter of fact Qualcomm currently has one of their Xprizes listed for some one who has built a legitimate, 'Tricorder', and there is even an entire project dedicated to it's invention... And where as it is true, the Tricorder inherently has been invented... We are not quite at Star Trek level... But considering what is out there now... Forget about it! A huge evolutionary leap!

But there is so much more! I mean the Military is working with making robotic replacement limbs for  disabled Soldiers that have lost a limb in combat that as time goes on seem to be headed more and more toward becoming more like the robotic replacement that Luke Skywalker had from, 'Star Wars', then just the more customary prosthetic!

And I have also recently heard that NASA is beginning to look in to the potential for Warp Drive as well!

A NASA design for their Warp Ship!

The last one that I thought that I would mention here is, 'Teleportation'... Now I will be honest with you guys and say that when I first heard about this, I was pretty certain that this would never happened besides who would want to get their atoms scrambled anyway... Right?

Well the exciting news is that Scientists have been working for years to crack the code that may some day make, 'Planes', 'Trains' &  'Automobiles' obsolete!

There is so much more that I could say on this subject, but I thought that these might be a few things that might wet your whistle... And where as it maybe true that we may not be, 'Boldly Going Where No Man Has Gone Before'... Yet, but with the progress that Science is making... You never know!

Yesterdays Video Games Become Tomorrows Mobile Phone Games

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="398"] Apparently, 'The Legend Of Zelda' is one of the games that you can play on the iPhone![/caption]

You know when I was a kid, the main video game system had been the, Nintendo Entertainment System... It was sleek, it was beautiful... And for the most part it was still pretty new technology, (when I got to start playing video games, the, 'Nintendo' had only been around for a few years!)

Well as time went on and the, era of the 'NES' turned in to the era of the future of video gaming with such systems as the, 'Super NES' & the, 'Sega Genesis' and their successor systems started to take over these previous generations of systems, it started to become harder and harder for people like myself, who still really enjoy games like, 'The Legend Of Zelda', or 'Super Mario Bros,' or other such now ancient games to find them and the systems that had once been extremely popular!

Well with the advent of the the, 'Smart Phone' I have come to discover something extremely interesting... I came to discover that some of these ancient games are being brought back to life on the mobile phone, in their original format!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Mega Man 2 is just one of the examples of games that came out for the, 'NES' that you can now play on the Iphone.[/caption]

Now you might be wondering why this is so cool... Well the truth is, is that as the generations go by, there are lesser and lesser NES and other ancient video game systems to play them on... And it would appear that with the exception of, 'Mega Man' that for some reason that a lot of video game makers are instead of keeping the classics alive and well seem to be making the same mistake that a lot of movie studios seem to be doing, and that is, remaking the original video games!

A good example of this is the video game, 'Contra'...

Contra, in my opinion, this game was not just a game that helped keep the, 'Nintendo' popular through the 80s and the early 90s, (when the Super Nintendo would replace the system.) In the case of this game, This game you could almost say is not just a video game that helped to make 2D shooters what  they would be for the rest of their run, but I believe is something that helped make the first person shooter what it is today!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="504"] Contra... A true classic![/caption]

I recently discovered that there is a remade version of this game that came out for the XBox... So of course I got really excited about it and immediately picked it up... You know what? I hate to say it, but the game was freaking horrible! I mean besides the fact that the game's controls are absolutely despicable, the graphics were changed just enough to be a tease... (basically they changed just enough of it so that it looked different from the original, but not so different that you couldn't tell that you were playing a  bad 2D game!)

So if you have a smart phone, and are like me, and love ancient games, then give them a try on your phone, you might like it!

http://youtu.be/F6np9ub8uZI

http://youtu.be/XAhNkZWvZJ4

http://youtu.be/qsAkqFusYic

The Signal (2007) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Written & Directed by: David Bruckner (V/H/S), Dan Bush (Goodbye Day) and Jacob Gentry (My Super Psycho Sweet 16). Starring: Anessa Ramsey (Footloose), Sahr Ngaujah (Stomp The Yard), AJ Bowen (The House Of The Devil), Juston Welborn (The Crazies), Cheri Christian (Dark Remains) & Scott Pythress (Prayers From Pelham).

The Signal, (which I suspect was heavily inspired by the Stephen King novel, 'Cell'), tells the story of how the world comes to an end due to a signal that is being broadcast through various electronic devices that can receive signals, (such as: TVs, Cell Phones, Cord Less Phones, Radio, etc...) that drives normal people in to psychotic rages that make them want to kill as many people as they can get there hands on!

Now surrounding this apocalyptic plot is three seperate plot lines surrounding the central cast that move in a very awesome 3 act structure...
The first act has to do with Mya (Ramsey), she is a woman who has just recently started to cheat on her husband by the name of, 'Lewis' (Bowen), and is heading home fearful after her first time cheating on him...

When she gets back to the apartment building that she lives in though, she comes to discover that there are a ton of people out in the Hallway and that these people seem to be near cracking they are so stressed out!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="527"] This woman is heading home through hell![/caption]

When she finally makes it in to her apartment, Lewis is in there with two of his friends... But after a nerve racking moment of fear that turns out to just be a loving embrace between her and her husband, Lewis leaves, and Mya gets ready to take a shower.

Once she gets out there though she notices that her husband is watching the strange image on the screen that she first noticed when she was at, 'Ben's' (Welborne) house, (the man she was cheating on her husband with.)

As she is heading toward the shower, one of Lewis's friends is swinging a bat, and Lewis just utterly freaks out on the guy... After she gets in to the bathroom she hears a thunk and then comes back out to find out what is going on... The scene that she comes in to though, is something unfathomable!
You see when she gets out of the bathroom, she discovers that Lewis is beating one of his friends to death, and fearing for her life, she escapes only after Lewis's friend, 'Rod' (Ngaujah) is trying to stop him!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="492"] This guy is one unhappy camper![/caption]

Once she gets out of there though, she notices that the entire apartment building seems to have gone off the deep end, when she discovers that her neighbor had gone insane, and another one was indiscriminately killing people, and that the hallways seem to be littered with bodies!

After a rough night of waiting in her friends locked apartment, she decides to take off, and once she gets in to the hall way she notices Rod is out there, and the 2 of them decide to take off...

Once they get outside though, Mya and Rod discover that it is the whole world that has actually gone insane, and that Mya will ultimately end up taking a quixotic journey to the train station in the hopes of meeting Ben on track 13 and eventually escaping the city of, 'Terminus'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="264"] Definitely a fun B movie![/caption]

In the end I didn't want to say the whole story, but it is an awesome tale of survivors from all walks of life as they connect during a psychotic mass murder spree, and try to escape it before, friends, loved ones, or even people that would normally be sane good natured people try and slaughter them!

The other thing that I wanted to say is that it is rare in the modern day that I get to see a truly awesome exploitation film (in my opinion the 50s - 80s really cornered the market on these types of films). But this movie was an awesome homage to the classic exploitation movies from way back then, with literally everything that made those types of movies awesome (but in a modern setting both in the story and the technology that was used to make the movie as well!)

I suspect though that unless you are a B Movie fan or a horror movie fan, then you are probably not gonna enjoy this one, but if you are a fan of one or both (like I am), then if you get a chance, check it out, (I think that you might like it!)

http://youtu.be/HdjYJPgCHD0

Books Are Getting A Digital Upgrade... It's A Good Thing

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="406"] 'Books' are getting an upgrade to the next generation with the, 'E-Book'[/caption]

Being a collector and a huge fan of history, I find that I really enjoy the classics, rather it be a nice comic, a sleek pristine movie poster, or heck, even a Nintendo game to play on those wonderful Saturday afternoons, when I don't have anything better to do of course!

And the truth is, is when it comes to the old ways of entertainment, I find that doing stuff like playing, 'Sonic: The Hedgehog' on the Sega Genesis is just as much fun as playing, 'Halo' on my XBox 360... But the truth is, is there is one medium that I personally am finding to be extremely fascinating...  A technology trend that I hope is not just a passing fad, and one that I have no problem with seeing the old ways becoming those for the collector... That is the digital upgrade from, 'Book' to, 'E-Book'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="335"] Digitizing books is not a bad thing... And could be a way to help entice more people to read![/caption]

Well you might be wondering why I say this... Being that I am a writer, being that I am a collector, and being that I am a fan of history!

Well the truth is, is I have heard all of the hype about how, 'paper' is dead, the written word is dying... etc... etc...

As far as paper goes... So be it, paper is an environmentally un-friendly way of communicating in written form... We cut down dozens upon dozens of trees every year for this, and the truth is, is short of Christmas, with technology heading toward more eco-friendly modes... I don't see that paper has much use anymore.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"] The death of paper brings technology and innovation, and eco-friendly alternatives to prominence![/caption]

As for the written word, that is not dying, as a matter of fact, about a year ago I noticed that stylus's are starting to be created and set up for tablets so that you can continue to write by hand on your tablet, and with the advances in apps for the phone and other e-cards and other such things, it is not so much that paper the written word are a dying art form... (Well paper maybe) but like the rest of the world, this form, and just about everything associated with it are getting a desperately needed upgrade!

So don't mourn for the book, don't mourn for paper, let, 'paper' and the, 'book' die a respectful death and float away in to the sands of time as a well respected, and much beloved collectors item, and let's usher in to the world, the world of the, 'E-Book', the, 'E-Book' and the, 'Stylus' as the future of the written word... Trust me when I say that you won't regret it!

The Lawnmower Man (1992) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

Jeff Fahey (Psycho 3), what can I say about this man, he is an amazing actor, having done such awesome films as, Psycho 3 (1986), Darkman 3: Die Darkman Die (1996), and even Planet Terror (2007)!

Why is this guy so great you might be asking, well in just about everything I have seen him in (at least in his earlier work anyway, and to some degree in his later work), he gives off this sort of grifter/sarcastic attitude that just works perfectly in just about everything I have seen him in, except believe it or not, the first movie that I ever saw him in, and that of course being, The Lawnmower Man (1992)!

Written & Directed by: Brett Leonard (Virtuousity). Starring: Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan (Golden Eye), Jenny Wright (Near Dark), Geoffrey Lewis (The Devil's Rejects) & Dean Norris (Breaking Bad).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] This Lawnmower man is soon going to become so much more![/caption]

This movie is sort of an awesome melding of Science Fiction and horror, in that this movie tells the story of, Doctor Lawrence Angelo (Brosnan) who is an expert scientist that is working on virtual reality and sets his sights on the mild mannered slightly retarded guy that works in his neighborhood by the name of, 'Jobe Smith' (Fahey) to help him...

You see Angelo has figured out a way using his virtual reality techniques to make Jobe smarter... And after the initial sessions, he starts showing some amazing progress... to the point where this formerly retarded young man eventually becomes so smart that he figures out how to actually make his lawnmower go by itself!

In the end, something goes haywire with the whole experiment, you see Jobe starts getting smarter and smarter, to the point where he gets to smart for his own good, and ends becoming dangerous!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Jobe 2.0 literally![/caption]

Now if Angelo can't fix this before the now out of control genius, 'Jobe', gets to far out of control, then ultimately he may not only loose his experiment, but his experiment might end up causing problems in such a way that people may not be prepared for!

As a side note, and a little bit of interesting trivia... It turns out that both Jeff Fahey and Dean Norris would end up working again in another Stephen King production, when they would star in last years masterpiece mini-series based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, 'Under The Dome' together!

In the end, this movie is a total blast, with great talent, a great story, and amazing special effects, and if you check it out, you might come to the same conclusions as well!

http://youtu.be/YCxFGxqLsHE

Modern Day Scientific Realities First Made Real In Jules Verne

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="238"] Jules Verne... A great author and visionary whose works were truly some might say... prophetic of things to come...[/caption]

Jules Verne... What can I say about the guy that hasn't already been said? I mean he was a master writer... And is still a legend in his own right for the work that he did in the Science Fiction genre... But one thing that could be said that he definitely contributed to, was the predictions made for technology that we take for granted today, but were not really available during his time!

A great example of this is the use of the submarine...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"] The Nautilus submarine... Probably one of the most famous ships from one of Jules Verne's most famous novels![/caption]

Now don't get me wrong when I say that this was entirely something that he predicted... I mean that by the time that Jules Verne wrote, '20,000 Leagues Under The Sea' in 1870, people had for just about a century been working on this technology in some capacity... But the truth is, is that there was a certain component to the, 'Nautilus' that did not really become a reality until roughly around World War 1... But did not become a fact until World War 2... That is the long term capability of subs to stay under the ocean!

Another great example of technology that was not even near to reality (as a matter of fact, until World War 2, had been a kind of pipe dream...) Is the idea of going to space! And in the case of his novel, 'From The Earth To The Moon'... A novel that he wrote in 1865, in which he was probably the closest to being right then anyone in the 19th century world, in how ultimately the space program would eventually be... (i,e... the idea behind it, is that a gun club decides to figure out a way to shoot a projectile with people in it to the moon...) And the truth is, is it looks like largely, the projectile is shapped like a bullet, (which rather your talking about the space shuttle before it reaches orbit, or the older space ships... All of the basic shapes are like that of a projectile... And the basic concept of a projectile (i,e... A pod that eventually separates from the booster rockets) was the concept behind a lot of the older rockets used...)

One could almost say that Jules Verne's, 'From The Earth To The Moon' helped the creative inspiration for some of the most famous space missions in, 'NASA' history!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="210"] A truly insightful book that either eerily predicted aspects of the space program correctly to the letter, or was a huge inspiration for the pioneers of the worlds Space Programs![/caption]

Now this one maybe a little bit loose, and it is not exactly having to do with, 'technology' per se... But I do think that this helped inspire the pioneers in aviation to make the world seem smaller with the capabilities of jumping continents in a matter of hours on planes... And that is the novel, 'Around The World In 80 Days' ... A novel which was published in 1873.

This novel could essentially be said to be the story of a man who accepts the wager of making a trip around the world in 80 days... I am convinced that at least to some extent was the inspiration in the early part of the 20th century in the race for pilots to become the first to travel between the United States, and England with out stopping!

In the end there is more that I can say about the author, as well as some of the marvels that have come from other 19th century authors that have made predictions about modern technology... But I think you get the point!

You Saw It First On Star Trek

Space… The final frontier… These are the voyages of Star Ship Enterprise… It’s five-year mission: to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before!

The above mentioned words were the words that were spoken by Captain James T. Kirk (Played by: William Shatner) at the beginning of every show opening during the run of the original Star Trek TV series (and would be maintained in some fashion all the way through the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation)!

Now I have to admit (and I am sure that you guys would admit this to), but the reality is, is that the original Star Trek series rather it be the TV series or the early movies, is pretty freakin campy, despite how good those movies and episode were back then and are today!

With that said though, there is another truth that I really don’t think that people these days would take in to consideration, and that is that, despite how campy the original Star Trek TV series and movies really are in a modern day setting, when they were released back in the 60s (for the TV series) and for the movies in the 80s and very early 90s, these movies and episodes showed what could have been!

[caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="600"] From left: The progression of computers from taking up large rooms, to the modern laptop, to a computer console on board the, 'Enterprise'.[/caption]

I mean in the late 60s when the original Star Trek series came out, the world didn’t have personal computers! We had a computer system that was still mostly inaccessible to even single person use, (the use of single personal computers didn’t start to slowly come in to use until sometime in the early 70s).

It is true that we still don’t have the ability for long term human space travel/exploration (although I suspect we are getting closer and closer to that.)

Another thing we didn’t have that the original Star Trek series postulated is computerized reading and writing systems that is hand held and portable that can be used similarly to a pencil and paper as well as a novel… Well with the advent of the various tablets and eReaders we are there!

Even yet another invention that Star Trek had in their own right, kind of postulated is the technology of Floppy disks… Now the truth is, is that the human race has out grown the need for floppy disk technology, what with the advent of re-writable DVDs/CDs and hard drives with larger and larger storage capacities as well as portable hard drives and flash drives becoming not just affordable but being able to hold more and more memory on them as well!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The Enterprise as she is warping in to action![/caption]

The truth is, is that at this point I think that it is probably safe to say that as time goes on, not just the original series will look more and more campy, but so will all of the other series begin to look more and more campy… But the truth is, is that for such technologies that we have invented before the 23rd or 24th centuries that I have mentioned above, and those that I haven’t as well as those that still need inventing… All I can say is, ‘You Saw It First On Star Trek’!

http://youtu.be/hdjL8WXjlGI