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Rick Ray and the Bulldogs were excited to get workouts started this summer under the new NCAA rules that allow a more hands-on approach during the offseason.
However, Tuesday that excitement was tempered with the injury to Jacoby Davis.
The 6-1, 192-pound point guard was thought to be the leading candidate for a starting role this fall, but will now likely miss the entire season due to a torn ACL.Â
"As a coach, you always hate to see this happen, but Jacoby is a tough kid and I know he'll bounce back from this injury," Ray said in a release.
Davis spent last season playing at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wis., where he averaged 21 points and five assists.Â
"The guys are just like good guys," said Davis after his visit to Starkville in April. "The staff truly cares about getting better each and every day. I really enjoyed my visit to Mississippi State, and I'm excited to be a part of the Bulldog family."
The North Carolina native will undergo surgery in August.Â
Moultrie signs
with Philadelphia
Former Mississippi State forward Arnett Moultrie is now officially a member of the NBA.
On Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference's leading rebounder signed his contract with the Philadelphia 76ers after being drafted with the 27th pick by the Miami Heat in this year's NBA Draft.
The terms of the contract have not been release but Moultrie is expected to make $1.04 million.
During his lone season on the court for the Bulldogs, Moultrie averages 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting almost 55 percent from the floor.Â
Moultrie joins fellow 76er and draftee Maurice Harkness (17th selection) who was the Big East Rookie of the Year while playing for St. John's.Â
New uniforms
for football Dogs
Mississippi State fans following Scott Stricklin on Twitter have been receiving a sneak peak at the new look the Bulldogs will don this fall on the gridiron.Â
Snippets of the football uniform have served as teaser for Thursday's unveiling from Adidas as part of their TECHFIT line. Â
It is expected the Bulldogs will have new color combinations with the announcement coming on HailState.com including a video presentation.View more articles in:


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Afro Samurai is the coolest game on the planet … for about two hours.
When a game has Samuel L. Jackson's voice, a gorgeous anime art style, musical direction from the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and gallons upon gallons of blood spraying and spilling all over the screen, it's very easy to get spellbound.
But the haze of cool eventually fades after a few more hours, and you'll find an experience that's just as flawed as it is fun.
The game is an incarnation of the cult hit anime miniseries featuring Jackson and the RZA's music along with actors Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu.
You play the Jackson-voiced Afro Samurai, sort of a Black Belt Jones-type character with the blade skills of The Bride from "Kill Bill."
He's on a quest to avenge the death of his dad while warding off the trouble that comes with wearing the "No. 2 headband," which signifies his place as the second-best killer in the world. He encounters many strange characters, kills a lot of people … and then kills some more. You get the idea.
The game's art style does a fantastic job of capturing the vibe of the Afro Samurai universe without looking like a half-hearted, cel-shaded attempt to mimic the series. It's a feudal-but-futuristic world, so for every angry swordsman you face, you'll also get androids, crazed monks with flamethrowers and giant, churning machines.
Adding more flavor to the playing experience is the most enjoyable collection of in-game music I've heard in a few years. The RZA inspired and supervised a lot of these tracks, some of which layer beats of varying paces over some Ennio Morricone-esque, spaghetti Western-style guitar twangs. You're also going to get hit with some wailing violins, electric guitar, and some Asian-inspired instrumentals. All of which makes for a splendid collection of melodies to slaughter people to — because if there's anything Afro does well, it's end lives.
The game's combat system is hit or miss, but wow, can it hit. Afro is a legendary swordfighter, even being able to slice bullets into fragments that can kill others around him.
Players can also trigger "focus mode", which is like "bullet time" in that it slows everything down. This enables Afro to charge up his sword attacks and wipe out three or four enemies in one swing.
And by wipe out, I mean Afro's cutting arms off, slicing enemies in half, hacking off both a guy's legs at the same time — if he can cut it, it gets cut. Think of the restaurant fight scene in "Kill Bill." Now picture that happening all the time.
But as satisfying as all this might sound, there are some nasty problems in this game, and no amount of style and flash can cover them.
First off, the game's platforming aspects are reprehensible. Afro has to pull off some Prince of Persia-inspired wall running and jumping, which would be cool if the controls weren't so sloppy.
You'll blow your share of jumps and chances to grab onto things, even if your button presses are perfectly timed. Afro will sometimes not even grab onto ledges or platforms, and apparently, falling into water kills him instantly. I never felt 100 percent comfortable doing anything that didn't involve swinging my sword at someone in front of me. Not a good thing if you're trying to change up the gameplay.
Compounding the agility problems is the awful in-game camera, which features a screwy inversion setup (where pushing the stick right turns it left) that really can't be configured exactly to your liking. This means you have to babysit the camera every step of the way, which will throw you off, probably because most of the other games you've played have cameras that work.
The most irritating aspects of the game are ridiculously cheap and clunky boss battles. The fight against the monk called Brother Six is profanity worthy and unbearable. It's bad enough when he smacks Afro down with a fast, out-of-nowhere and unblockable punch attack, but then he fries him with his flamethrower while he's getting up. And you can't escape from it. You just have to eat flame.
There are other boss-fighting sins exposed in these battles, such as the "you-can't-hit-me-because-I'm-in-an-animation" problem, or the "you can only hit me from behind, and I'll still whip out a miracle block even though you have a clear shot" issue. This isn't like "Ninja Gaiden," where it comes down to skill to overcome the enemy — this is sloppy cheapness in its purest form. Somehow, I was able to finish the game.
There's also not much in the way of storytelling. You have a lot of dialogue and narrative, but it felt like it was there to showcase the voice talents of the actors than to let me know why I should care about the events surrounding Afro Samurai. It felt like an extremely simplified version of the original story. It certainly isn't long — I was able to finish the game in less than six hours.
Fans of the series will certainly find a lot to like, and in some ways, I still want to keep playing it. The music is too good, and the visuals are too pretty. It could be a nice stress reliever — for a short time, anyway.
Afro Samurai
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Namco Bandai/Surge
Rated M for Mature
Our rating: 6/10

subset: commoncrawl


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Find hotels & motels in Saillagouse using the list below. Explore our guide for inexpensive and discount hotel/motel rates in or near Saillagouse, France for your corporate or personal leisure travel. We show the best Saillagouse motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Saillagouse area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Saillagouse hotels.The Saillagouse center is about 3 miles from City Centre Font Romeu and 4 miles from City Centre Bolquere.
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TOXIC blue-green algae may have met their match in a bacterium that destroys their poison. Microbiologists in Australia have found a group of enzymes in the bacterium that will break down the toxin from Microcystis, a common blue-green alga. They plan to grow the bacterium in bulk, freeze-dry it and release it into waterways and treatment plants.
Blue-green algae are not really algae at all, but bacteria that obtain their energy from sunlight, through photosynthesis. Because of their blue-green colour they are also known as cyanobacteria. In summer, a combination of warmth, calm water and a build-up of nutrients can trigger blooms of cyanobacteria. Any toxins that they produce appear in large amounts in the water, and can cause fatal liver disease in livestock. The toxins produced by Microcystis have also been blamed for the exceptionally high rates of liver cancer in people in China.
Gary Jones from the water ...
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Fox News has identified the Navy Seal, who is the author of a book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Matt Bissonnette retired from the Navy last summer, according to Fox's conversation with a former U.S. and current U.S. Navy official. The book is called "No Easy Day" and is scheduled to come out on September 11th. Bissonnette wrote the book under the pseudonym Mark Owen. The book is being published by the Penguin group. He could face legal trouble if it is determined that he revealed classified information.
How the US Mint and NIST are perfecting the money-making process.


text:
Gathering OCA survey data
STEP 6. Administer the survey
Before assigning the survey, explain why it is being administered and discuss issues of confidentiality and anonymity. Specify a time frame for taking the survey; seven to ten days is usually sufficient. The OCA's assign this survey function enables you to set start and end dates to complete the survey. Response rates for online surveys improve if you give periodic reminders.


text:
Game Trailer
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (DS) Trailer
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The boy wizard makes another appearance on DS in this video-of-the-game-of-the-film-of-the-book. More information as always over at Nintendo
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text: "amorous, flirtatious person," 1690s, originally of both sexes (as it was in French), from French coquet (17c.), diminutive of coq "cock" (see cock (n.1)). A figurative reference to its strut or its lust. The distinction of fem. coquette began c.1700, and use in reference to males has faded out since.


text:
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden
Bli en Star om du vill sjunga den här låten.
LoveIsNotAVictor skrev:
Weird version...
2011-12-06 07:46:01
BlueSkyBird skrev:
2010-03-25 17:00:04
kavu10 skrev:
nice =D
2009-12-22 17:36:14
qinjuehang skrev:
Cool second!
2009-12-11 04:03:07
oview skrev:
Great song but bit pain to wait for those solos to end...
2009-10-21 16:55:25
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Song information
Hallowed Be Thy Name is a song written by Steve Harris for the 1982 Iron Maiden album The Number of The Beast.
I'm waiting in my cold cell
When the bell begins to chime
Reflecting on my past life
And it doesn't have much time
'Cause at five o'clock
They take me to the Gallows Pole
The sands of time for me are running
Running low
When the priest comes to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me
Can it be that there's some sort of error
Hard to stop the surmounting terror
Is this really the end not some crazy dream
Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming
It's not easy to stop from screaming
But words escape me when I try to speak
Tears they flow but why am I crying
After all I'm not afraid of dying
Don't I believe that there never is an end
As the guards march me out to the courtyard
Somebody cries from a cell God be with you
If there's a God why does he let me go
As I walk my life drifts before me
Though the end is near I'm not sorry
Catch my soul it's willing to fly away
Mark my words believe my soul lives on
Don't worry now that I have gone
I've gone beyond to see the truth
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion
Yeah yeah yeah
Hallowed be Thy name!
Yeah yeah yeah
Hallowed be Thy name!


text:
How Greek default drama plays in Astoria
As Greece neared default on its billions in debts, and stocks and bonds dropped in Europe and the U.S., our intrepid Wall Street columnist asked some of the denizens of New...
Living large: Martha Stewart eyes a better bidder
Do-it-yourself maven has second thoughts after agreeing to $353M sales to Sequential Brands Group
Shipping tycoon floats latest boat IPO
Peter Georgiopoulos is slated to take public his latest venture, a tanker company cloyingly called Gener8 Maritime.
Barney Frank joins Signature Bank board
It's the first time the co-author of the landmark Dodd-Frank reform law has joined a bank since leaving Congress two years ago.
Donald Trump's claim to vast wealth doesn't hold up
Who wants to be a billionaire? The latest candidate for president, that's who.
Before investing in that hot tech startup, ask yourself: Is there a cheaper firm to put cash in?
Shares in even the most disruptive company, like Twitter, aren't worth buying if they're priced too high.
A Bulgarian trader was behind the Avon stock debacle
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued a Bulgarian trader for manipulating the stock price of Avon Products.
How to get under Jamie Dimon's skin
JPMorgan Chase CEO is irked by proxy advisers.
Lending outlook hardly gloomy for Bank Leumi
While other major banks are facing fines, Bank Leumi is
Seven years later, Dick Fuld opens up—sort of—on Lehman's failure
The former Lehman Brothers CEO spoke Thursday in a public forum for the first time since the bank's 2008 collapse. "You don't have the time to hear all the things I would have...
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KABUL, Afghanistan -- A well-coordinated attempt by suspected Taliban insurgents to assassinate President Hamid Karzai at the Afghan national day military parade in central Kabul has turned into a moment of national embarrassment for his government, which has been pressing to take over responsibility for Kabul's security from foreign troops.
Three people were killed yesterday in the brazen assault, ruining what was supposed to have been a proud moment for Afghan security forces. The ability of the attackers to get so close to Karzai, who escaped unhurt, suggested they had inside help.


text:
Mens Night Club
Quote: "As a lap-dancer I wore nothing but a lace push-up bra and lace thong"
The Story...
I worked at the men's club in town. Guys would come in and see naked girls. Of course there were private rooms in the back. My job was a part-time lap-dancer and part-time naked girl.
As a lap-dancer I wore nothing but a lace push-up bra and lace thong. I would walk around looking for men with numbers. The higher the number, the sooner I would get to them.
When I was a naked girl, I would stand in a glass cubicle dancing and shaking. Then I choose a guy to come in the booth with me and dance and grind.
Tonight I started off as a lap-dancer walking around looking for men with high numbers. I found a guy with a blonde navy-cut. When I walked over to him, he smiled. "hi. i wanna do more than just dancing tonight." I smiled back. I took his hand and led to the back rooms.
We closed and locked the door. He pulled off his shirt and undid his belt. He slipped off his pants and wasn't wearing anything underneath. I sauntered over to him and started making out with him. He undid my bra and stepped back to inspect me. After he was done, he pulled off my thong and his fingers danced all around it. "excuse me." i said. " i belive its my turn now." He stepped back and opened up to me . I sucked on his cock and he laid down on the ground and sucked my tits. I stopped sucking and so did he. He pushed his dick into my pussy again and again, thrusting faster and faster. Then he turned over and I knew it was my turn. I straddled him, bouncing up and down, faster until I was riding him.
After half an hour my boss was pounding on the door yelling at me. " Give some of the other customers some attention will you It's time for your naked girl act!" We both dressed fast, and ran out the door.
I walked into the clear cubicle and pulled off my bra. All the men watching cheered. I then pulled of my thong and they cheered louder. I danced and danced and then chose a guy to come in with me. I pressed against him and grinded. And an hour later, my shift was over.Read more stories from our Short stories category
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- Mens Night Club
- Published: Jul 19, 2008
- Author: Unknown
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Dr. Quinlan joined Ochsner in 1998 as Chief Medical Officer of Ochsner Clinic Foundation. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Ochsner Clinic from 1999-2001 and then as Chief Executive Officer of Ochsner Health System from 2001-2012.
Dr. Quinlan is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Ochsner Clinic Foundation and Ochsner International Services and the Executive Director of the Ochsner Center for Wellness and Health Policy. He is on the Ochsner Board of Directors, serves as Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee, and is a member of the St. Anne and the Ochsner West Bank Boards.
Before joining the Foundation, Dr. Quinlan served as Chief Medical Officer of Lovelace Health Systems in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin and received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Quinlan completed his dermatology residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is Board Certified in Dermatology. He earned a Masters degree in Health Administration from the College of St. Francis in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In May 2007, Dr. Quinlan was named the #1 most powerful physician executive in the nation by Modern Physician magazine. In 2008, he was selected as one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" by Modern Healthcare magazine. Quinlan was also voted a Healthcare Hero in May 2007 by New Orleans CityBusiness Magazine. Ochsner's Leadership Team also received the National Top Leadership award in 2006 from HealthLeaders Magazine.
He currently serves on the Board of the Pan American Life Insurance Group, the Health Care Solutions Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Board of Iberia Bank and the Community Board for Café Reconcile.


text:
'Prison Break': Jailtime, again
Prison Break pulls the old bait-and-switch on us this week when one of the Breakouts gets nabbed. Plus, Gretchen gets down with her bad self, the Death Fairy attempts to be threatening, and Agent Don Self discovers it pays to carry a change of underwear.
It's Sassy Spoiler, by a nose!
The guys continue their quest for all the Scylla cardholders, which this week takes them to a racetrack. That gives most of the guys the change to wear spiffy, horse-race-watching haberdashery. Alas, Mahone and Linc missed out on the good hats -- Linc's got a standard black baseball cap, and Mahone is bare-headed. The guys use Sarah's boobs to plant a booby trap... OK, there were a couple of intervening steps -- Sarah distracted a guard with her cleavage, which allowed Michael and Mahone to plant the Digital Black Hole in the manager's office. Meanwhile, Linc casually strolls out onto the racetrack and places a device on the starting gate so one horse-- the cardholder's horse -- gets stuck behind a sticky gate. The cardholder storms up to the manager's office to complain, which is where Roland and his spiffy device siphon out the data. Piece of cake!
One small problem -- they need to retrieve the device from the manager's office. Fights break out after the abortive race, which brings the cops, so Michael has to scarper before he's recognized. Poor hatless Mahone goes up to snag the device, but the guard comes back before he can get out, and this time Sarah's boobs have lost their appeal. Mahone tries to find an alternate exit, but he's intercepted. He punches out one cop, but a passel of other cops catch him. Doh!
Michael calls Self to get Mahone out of jail. Self promises he'll "take care of it" -- which does not necessarily mean he'll get Mahone out. Self goes to the jail, throws is Homeland Security weight around, and presents Mahone with papers to sign. Those documents won't secure Mahone's release, however -- they'll just allow Self to take Mahone's belongings, which include the Digital Black Hole. Later Self tells Michael that he can't get Mahone released, but he can have him killed. Booo! Hiss! Bad Self!
Back at Breakout HQ, the team is torn -- Bellick and Sucre say they've got to mount a rescue, while Linc and, eventually, Michael say the mission is too important. Bellick and Sucre aren't stupid (well, Sucre isn't) -- they realize that this means ANY of them are expendable, and they're not happy about it. Michael says there's nothing they can do. Instead, it's time to work on the fifth cardholder.
The General tries to get a tap on Self's computer, but apparently The Company's IT guys kind of suck. So The General sets the Death Fairy on Self's tail. The Death Fairy confronts Self in a dark parking garage, and Self looks like he lost control of his bladder as he blusters his way out of the encounter. Self-- you wimp! I'll be GLAD when someone finally kills you! The Death Fairy sees the parking stub from the jail where Mahone is being held and finds Mahone. It looks like Mahone is doomed.
But wait! What's Sarah doing at the courthouse, posing as Mahone's lawyer? And is that Sucre in the back of the courtroom? Right when Mahone and the Death Fairy are looking like they're about to lock horns, Michael uses the technique he was planning to use to overload the fifth cardholder's security system to instead blow up the lights in the courtroom, and Mahone, Sarah and Sucre escape. The Death Fairy runs downstairs in time to see Mahone and Sarah drive away, but there are too many cops around for him to take a shot. Instead, he makes "Pew! Pew!" shooting gestures, which isn't half as threatening as he wants it to be.
Back at Breakout HQ, Mahone calls the Death Fairy, who apparently had enough time to slip a note to Mahone telling him to turn himself in. The Death Fairy tells Mahone that killing his son wasn't personal. "We're going to meet again," Mahone replies. "And when we do, I'm going to show you just how personal things can get." See? THAT'S how you intimidate someone! I hope you took notes, Death Fairy!
Satellite psychopaths
Meanwhile, Gretchen makes her bruised, battered and bloody way to a lovely suburban home, where her sister lives. Gretchen spins a story about her car breaking down in the desert to explain her bruises, but no one's buying it. Gretchen retrieves a lovely ceramic owl she'd sent as a gift, then smashes it to reveal guns and money. Go Gretchen!
Gretchen tries to retrieve Whistler's things at the coroner's office, but the sympathetic coroner won't turn stuff over until Gretchen can prove she's the dead man's wife. So Gretchen bounces his head off the desk a few times and takes what she wants. That includes Whistler's phone, which has a message from a real estate agent about Pfeiffer's apartment.
Speaking of Pfeiffer... T-Bag is still trying to figure out the clues in the bird book. He discovers that the storage room off his corner office is significant for some reason, but before he can investigate fully, the toadying manager who hates him storms in and says he's noticed several discrepancies in Pfeiffer's reports -- enough to look like fraud. T-Bag promises to straighten things out, then wipes down the office and runs like hell. He's ready to flee the apartment when he's cold-cocked by Gretchen, who then pins him to the floor with her four-inch stiletto heel resting on his throat. "Who the hell are you?" she spits. That sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship...
Highlights, thoughts and odds and ends
- Michael gives Sarah an appreciative leer when she sashays past him at the track. "Don't get used to it," she whispers. Hee.
- I love how Linc, this huge, hulking, dangerous-looking guy, can just blithely wander into secure locations, like the warm-up ring at the racetrack, without anyone noticing.
- Bellick gets to put his belligerence and bad attitude to good use, serving as a distraction at the betting window. It was a role he was born to play.
- Hey, The General has a last name! It's Krantz.
- Mahone throws out the number the Death Fairy gave him. Roland retrieves it. Come on, Mahone -- don't spies always eat the information they don't want others to discover?
- Gretchen has a daughter named Emily. She gave her sister custody, and Emily doesn't know who her real mother is.
- When Gretchen reveals her cache of guns and money, her sister asks her who she works for. "As of now?" Gretchen replies. "Myself." Whoo-hoo! Gretchen's gonna kick some ass!
- Self tells Michael about his visit from the Death Fairy. "I'm not a big fan of almost catching a bullet in my head," he says. "Well, now you know what it's like," Michael replies.
- I really liked the music cues they used when Mahone spotted the Death Fairy in the courtroom. That raw, ragged rising tone mirrored the rage and loathing on Mahone's face. He looked like it was all he could do to not fling himself at the Death Fairy and try to beat him to death with his bare hands.
- Sarah's lawyer act had a purpose -- she steals the Mahone's file, and with it hid fingerprints. But wouldn't they have already entered him into the system?


text:
Earlier in the week I received a link to a news story on post-Fukushima insect mutations along with a one-word salutation: "MOTHRA!" Much to my horror, from the article it appears that the sender's exclamation was warranted. Mothra is real and, as expected, lives in Japan.
Behold, the evidence. First, I present to you a still from the 1964 film classic Mothra vs. Godzilla (which I always thought was sort of an unfair fight, but now that I know that Mothra is real, I may have to reevaluate):
Now I present to you the photo in the news story, which the reporter refers to as a "mutated butterly":
It's uncanny and totally creepy and has me very concerned about any nuclear power plants ever going in the jungle or swamp ever. I prefer watching King Kong and Godzilla on my television screen only, thankyouverymuch.


text:
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Northeast Iowa Community College is hosting a solar energy panel installation class.
Owners of a Texas-based solar energy company are teaching the four day workshop. Those teachers believe solar jobs will soon be in huge demand.
After losing a job as a mechanical engineer, Ryan Larson considers himself under-employed. That's why he's taking this entry level solar installation class.
Larson said, "It's something that everybody needs. People want to get off of the grid and stop being taken advantage of by their utility companies."
According to SolPower People Incorporated, the price of solar energy equipment has dropped 80 percent in the past five years.
SolPower People President Cathy Redson said, "while we've been sorting through this financial crisis, the price of solar on a global scale has been dropping like a stone."
Redson says more and more homeowners now want to use solar energy.
Like Larson, the students in this class come from a variety of backgrounds and are looking for a new skill
Redson said, "If you are going to be in sales. If you are going to be in finance. No matter the aspect of the business, you want to go into you need to understand the nature of where the rubber meets the road or where the panels meet the roof."
She says it's a booming business with plenty of jobs, as long as you understand the basics.
A Green Jobs Training Grant from the U-S Department of Labor allowed N.I.C.C. to offer the class to students free of charge.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather
Texas Organization Says Solar Jobs on the Rise in Iowa
By Katie Wiedemann, Reporter
Most Popular


text:
THE war on drugs is far from over, but we may be seeing the beginning of the end - at least for cannabis. On 6 November, two US states voted to legalise the drug, putting it on a similar footing to alcohol and tobacco (see "Cannabis legalisation launches living laboratory"). Colorado and Washington thus became the first states anywhere in the world to legalise an illegal psychoactive substance since war was formally declared in 1971.
One of the reasons legalisation passed was the failure of the status quo. If the main aim of drug policy is to reduce consumption, prohibition has not worked. It has arguably been counterproductive, putting a lucrative trade into the hands of violent gangs, saddling millions of people with criminal records, expending vast amounts of money and distracting attention from harm reduction. This has been obvious for years, but the taboos surrounding prohibition have remained largely unbroken.
Until now. Colorado and Washington have jumped first, but similar moves are afoot elsewhere, especially in Latin America.
What happens next will exert a huge influence over international drug policy. If legalisation does what its supporters say it will - reduce consumption and policing costs while raising revenues - the prohibitionist position will be further weakened.
But it could go the other way. Prohibitionists expect marijuana use to rise, and they may be proved right. Legal drugs are consumed at vastly higher rates than illegal ones, and where marijuana possession is decriminalised - meaning the police turn a blind eye - use tends to rise.
But there is also evidence in the other direction. When Portugal decriminalised possession of all drugs in 2001, there were dire warnings of an epidemic of use. Those fears proved groundless.
The bottom line is that we don't yet know what legalising marijuana will achieve. Supporters of a more rational, evidence-based drug policy (including this publication) have long seen legalisation as one possible alternative to prohibition. The bold experiment being undertaken by the people of Colorado and Washington will soon tell us whether we are right.
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We are all touched by violence. No one comes through the door of a dojo who has not been marked by this fact. Some are victims, others are victimizers. Some want relief from fear, others want to gain more power and control over their world in the face of chaos. Some dream of becoming a hero, wielding power like a weapon and doing violence for "good and just" purposes; vanquishing evildoers for the greater cause…
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You may have seen it in the news or online, but if not, there has been found a previously undiscovered Helen Keller – Anne Sullivan photo found in a collection donated to the NEHGS.
An NEHGS staff member discovered the photograph while combing through a large photography collection recently donated by Thaxter P. Spencer, 87, of Waltham, MA. (Full story can be read here.)
The signifcance of the photo is that there are very few images of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan when Helen was a child. This is a truly intriguing photo and I hope you have the time to read the full story by clicking on the link I have included above.
On a more personal note, just this week I had the heart-warming experience of sharing a photo of my ancestor Eleazer Smith with a new-found cousin. It was early evening and the phone rang, and Katie introduced herself and how we connect with the Smith family.
She had found online where I had said that I have a photo copy of Eleazer (Ale) Smith and she wondered if I still had it in my possession. The photo was generously copied by another cousin named Christine Brady who lives in Tennessee and given to me for my records.
When I was given this photo it was as if a pot of gold had been dropped in my lap. I never thought I would see a photo of this GGG-Grandfather. And now, I have shared it with Katie and I know she feels the same way. Ale was born in 1803, and since he looks to be a young man in this photo, it was most likely taken in the 1820's or so.
Many of my family photos can be found on Webshots. I have posted them there as public albums so that any of my cousins and kin can see them and download them if they like. I don't see myself as the 'owner' of the photos and documents I have, but ratehr the 'caretaker' and as such, it is my goal to keep them safe but also share them with as many people as possible. That way, history is not lost. Do you feel the same way?


text: Français English 3 years ago Oblivion Trailer Here is the trailer of Oblivion, Joseph Kosinski's next film based on the eponymous graphic novel wrote with Arvid Nelson. This science-fiction film depicts Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko and Morgan Freeman in a futuristic world where Earth is in ruins. Release scheduled for 19 April 2013.


text:
Book Description
A small creature offers his big voice for aspiring authors everywhere!
Booklist *Starred Review*
New York Teacher, Check It Out Column
Children's Literature
Kirkus Reviews
Daniel Kirk speaks about Library Mouse:
It was fun coming up with my main animal character, Sam. I asked myself: should he look silly, like a cartoon mouse, or should he look more realistic? Should he have big ears and eyes, or little tiny ones? Should he be black, brown, white or gray? What could I do to make him look unique and special? How old is he supposed to be? At first, when my editor told me my sketches of Sam looked too mousey, I wasn't sure how to make my mouse look friendlier. Then I realized that my Sam wasn't wearing anything in the pictures but his own fur coat, and I put him in a variety of little mouse-sized outfits. Surprise! Suddenly he looked much cuter.
Things to think about and do, after you have read Library Mouse:


text:
Here's a switch, Headley's better as lefty
A Padres official said it was not an emergency situation. Coleman, 85, is expected to rejoin the Padres broadcast team Friday after taking Thursday off.
Durango at the top
Two days after being promoted from Triple-A Portland, speedster Luis Durango started in center field and led off Wednesday.
It marked the first time that Durango started in the leadoff slot as a Padre.
He doesn't have a tough act to follow. Padres leadoff hitters pre-Durango were batting .191 this season with a .275 on-base percentage. Most successful in the slot has been Will Venable, who was 7-for-24 with four walks in the six games previous to Durango's debut.
Padres notes
• Right-handed reliever Tim Stauffer threw off the mound yesterday for the first time since having an emergency appendectomy 15 days ago in San Francisco. Stauffer will have at least one more bullpen session before the next step is determined.
• Heath Bell was clocked at 97 mph on several pitches in the ninth inning Tuesday night. Usually, Bell's fastball is between 92 and 95 mph.
• Outfielder Scott Hairston took batting practice again Wednesday, but has not yet tested his strained left hamstring running.
Bill Center: (619) 293-1851; email@example.com


text:
The health of United States citizens.
Prepare rice, steamed foods, soups and stews deliciously with this Aroma 5-in-1 rice cooker and food steamer. The pot-style rice cooker includes a rice paddle, measuring cup, and "Yan Can Cookbook" by Martin Yan plus it features tempered glass lid, hard-alloy … see full wiki
What did you think of this review?
The health of United States citizens.
A blender.


text:
Salisbury Charter Market
Outdoor Market
Fish Row
Tel: +44 (0) 1722 342860
Everything under one roof (if we had one).
Even though Salisbury Market is held outdoors in all weathers throughout the year, it never fails to please the shopper and browser alike.
Colourful, noisy, bustling, friendly and full of enticing aromas; from freshly ground coffee and fresh bread to hot doughnuts, hog roast and newly cut flowers Salisbury Market has it all!
You can also discover a bit of Italy, selling the best ice cream, oils and olives in the South West.
There's also fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, cheeses, eggs, haberdashery, carpets, clothes, shoes, jewellery, kitchenware and wooden furniture - in fact the range of goods on offer at Salisbury Market is outstanding and all at exceptional prices. (We yell it and sell it!)
The farmers' section within the market now runs every market day throughout the year and has proved to be an invaluable addition.
It can be recognised by the blue/white stalls located in the middle of the market.
The produce sold is grown or produced by local farmers selling goods such as smoked trout and other fish, fresh bread, eggs, meats, sausages, bacon, cheeses and locally produced wines - something for all tastes.
Around the top of the Salisbury Market you will find many cafés serving espresso and cappucino as well as beer, wine and food, with plenty of outside tables and chairs.
Salisbury Market takes place every Tuesday and Saturday (except the third Tuesday in October when the Charter Fair comes to the city).
The vibrant Charter Market incorporates a local Farmers' Market, with an additional popular Farmers' Market each Wednesday at the Poultry Cross.
There are also several continental markets throughout the year.
If you would like to become a stall holder, please contact Guy Waterhouse at Salisbury City Council on 01722 342860.
Opening Times
|Open All Year
|2015 (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2015)
* Every Tuesday and Saturday (except the 3rd Tuesday in October when the charter fair is in the city)
8am to 4pm in the summer and 8am to 3.30pm in the winter.
What's Nearby
Young Gallery Salisbury
The galleries in the Salisbury Library have been re-named the Young Gallery in the recognition of...0.06 miles away
The Stonehenge Tour
The best way to discover the mysterious stones!
Our distinctive buses with recorded audio...0.1 miles away
Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival 2016
Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival presents a wonderful array of spectacular events....0.22 miles away
Mompesson House
Queen Anne house with magnificent plasterwork, fine oak staircase, period furniture and important...0.26 miles away
Fisherton Mill - Gallery, Cafe and Artist Studios
Explore a treasure trove of amazing artwork in the largest independent art gallery in the South...0.27 miles away
Sarum College
Situated in Grade I Listed buildings in Salisbury's Cathedral Close, Sarum College hosts a regular...0.28 miles away
The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum
The Museum tells the story of the infantryman from the Seven Years War to the present day. On the...0.3 miles away
Salisbury Cathedral and Magna Carta
Be inspired by this magnificent medieval cathedral surrounded by 8 acres of lawn and historic...0.38 miles away
Salisbury Museum
Home of the award-winning Wessex Gallery and the 'Amesbury Archer'. Displays reveal the history of...0.44 miles away
Arundells, the home of former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath KG MBE.0.45 miles away
Old Sarum
Discover the story of the original Salisbury with a day out to Old Sarum, 2 miles north of where...1.61 miles away
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Collection of aircraft, cockpits, replicas and models weapons and trials equipment to show the...2.06 miles away
Wilton House
Wilton House, home to the 18th Earl of Pembroke, provides a fascinating insight into British...2.76 miles away
Wilton Shopping Village
The Wilton Shopping Village offers you a unique shopping experience - good value in an historic,...2.82 miles away
St Mary's Church, Wilton
On completion of Wyatt and Brandon's 'Italianate' church in 1845, this 'old' church in the Market...2.96 miles away
Salisbury Racecourse
Salisbury Racecourse is one of England's oldest racecourses, racing having taken place at the...3.05 miles away


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Recursive Unlocking: Analyzing Resident Evil's Map Design with Data Visualization
Resident Evil
is often credited with inventing the survival horror genre. While that particular accolade may not be entirely factual, the game is worthy of recognition for cementing horror as a viable, mass-market console genre. Critics are quick to point out that Resident Evil's basic game system, consisting of static backgrounds, 3D characters, and character-centric pivot-and-move controls, were lifted almost entirely from
Alone in the Dark.
Resident Evil, some will argue, might have taken the Dark formula and spruced it up for prime time, but it can hardly be credited with any great game design innovation.
Though it's true that Resident Evil used Alone in the Dark as its template, I think that critics who write the game off as a copycat are not paying enough attention. There is a wealth of interesting game design ideas in Resident Evil, and in this article I want to tackle one of them in particular: the design of the mansion map.
It's been a while since we all played Resident Evil, so let me refresh your memory. At the beginning of the game the protagonists find themselves locked in the sinister Spencer Mansion, which is also home to lots of zombies and (as we eventually find) a large underground secret laboratory. As the game starts there are only a few rooms that are accessible--access to most of the mansion is sealed behind locked doors, secret panels, and powered-down elevators. As the player progresses through the mansion he finds keys that unlock doors in areas he's already visited, and must eventually return to those areas to find more keys to unlock new areas of the structure. Thus the player travels through the map in a very non-linear fashion, moving back and forth between rooms as items are collected and puzzles are solved, and eventually passing into areas with entirely new rooms. The map opens itself up like a spiral shell. I call this design
Recursive Unlocking.
This approach has interested me for a long time. The genius part of the Resident Evil level design is that in the course of playing through the game two things happen: the player unlocks shortcuts and the player runs out of ammo. At some point the game becomes entirely about traversing efficiently through the mansion; it's a run from the safe room (where we can save) through the shortest possible set of rooms until we reach another safe room or a new puzzle to solve. There's simply not enough ammo to dispatch all of the zombies in the game, so route planning and deftly maneuvering through the Victorian building is eventually the key source of challenge.
Though the Recursive Unlocking pattern is interesting, I've struggled with how to study it. The actual order in which rooms are accessed has a lot to do with the player himself; most of the time there are two or three puzzles that are in the process of being solved simultaneously, and the level of traversal efficiency can depend on the order in which these puzzles are attempted. That said, there's clearly a method behind the design of Spencer Mansion and its surrounding areas. The brains behind this game carefully architected the map so that the player's traversal through the mansion would occur at a pace that they could control. To understand how the Recursive Unlocking methodology works, it would help to understand how the space was designed in the first place. Since we can't just call up Shinji Mikami, Hideki Kamiya, and the rest of the (large) design team, I turned to the next best thing: data mining and visualization.
When designing a game we can assume that the level designer thinks in terms of the fastest path through the space. If several goals must be completed before the next space is unlocked, the level designer knows the most efficient order in which to complete them. He's likely to lay the main path out first, then go back and flesh it out with extra details, secondary goals, or side-paths. Therefore, if we look at a highly efficient traversal of the space that doesn't rely on bugs or tricks, we should be able to get a rough approximation of how the level was put together originally.
What I did is take a video of a speed run of Resident Evil: Director's Cut (using Jill, on Arrange Mode, with 100% completion) and trace the player's path through the game. I recorded each room transition in order, along with a time stamp, to produce a mapping of the speed runner's entire path through the game. Then I wrote some code to render this path over a 2D map of the whole game using Processing. Finally, I took all the data I had, threw it into a spreadsheet, and made some graphs.
The results are pretty interesting. The speed runner takes the most efficient path possible through the game; no time is wasted with story or items. The only rooms visited are those that are necessary to progress to the end of the game. Since this is Arrange Mode, the actual details of the traversal might differ slightly from the original Resident Evil, but even so the main arc of the game, the way that the player moves from one part of the mansion to another, is clearly visible and worthy of analysis.
Visualizing Recursive Unlocking
Here's a visualization of the most efficient path through Resident Evil 1.
You can download a
full-res movie file
(Quicktime format, 30 MB) of this if you want. There's also a
Java applet version
, but it doesn't work well in some browsers and needs a lot of memory.
This speed run is by
. The maps were produced by Daniel Engel and
posted on Gamefaqs
Resident Evil: Director's Cut: Unauthorized Game Secrets
had a useful numbering system for the rooms (which is unfortunately ignored by the actual walkthrough text) that I used to keep track of the speed run data.
What you are seeing here is the path from room to room that UltimateSpeedRuns took to finish the game in a little under an hour and a half (you should also check out his hilarious
44 second speed run of Clue
). The game starts with Jill entering the dining room on the first floor of the mansion and ends with her running down a hall in the laboratory to catch an elevator to the helipad. There are 213 room transitions here, which I've sped up to show in about a minute (if you want to see them in real time, try the Java applet).
So that looks pretty cool and all, but what does it really tell us? Let's start with some of the raw data collected for this research.
There are 116 unique rooms in Resident Evil, split between four major areas: the mansion, the courtyard, the guardhouse, and the laboratory. A room is any space the player can occupy: a hallway, passage, closet, or room. To finish the game, UltimateSpeedRuns visited 213 rooms total, which means that most rooms were visited only twice. Does it strike you as odd that a game known for requiring a lot of backtracking can be completed without passing through most rooms more than two times? Remember, this includes all hallways and passages, as well as proper rooms, in the game.
In fact, the data shows that we can be far more efficient than that. Of the 116 rooms in the game, 19 of them were not visited at all in this run. These are rooms that contain story pieces, or access to guns or other items that are not strictly necessary for progression. The majority (44, 38%) of rooms were only visited once. The most visited room in the entire game is a small hallway in the upper-right part of the mansion's first floor. This room connects the mansion to the courtyard, to the second floor, and it is also right in the middle of several shortcut paths. It was visited a total of eight times.
This means that while there is some backtracking involved in Resident Evil, the path is from beginning to end is mostly linear. In fact, looking at the video above, we can see that there is a common pattern to the traversal: the player enters an area and then spends a lot of time in that immediate vicinity, visiting adjacent rooms several times before moving forward or heading back the way they came. You can see how an area will light up with activity for a few seconds, then the player travels on to some other part of the mansion. There's a little bit of micro-backtracking within these "hot" areas, but very little retracing of steps across the larger map. At a macro level, Resident Evil is pretty much a linear string of these hot spots.
The presence of these high-activity areas reveals a key trait of the level design in Resident Evil: items and puzzles are organized together spatially and on the game timeline. When a puzzle in a room becomes solvable, it's likely that the next item required after it, or the previous item required to access it, is in an adjacent room. The hot spots we see in the video are areas where a bunch of related items are stored in close proximity, but the unlocking of these hot spots is sequenced, so we also know that related items are revealed to the player when they become relevant. The message to the player is this: the items you have now are useful soon, and you won't have to travel far to use them. Looking at the fastest-path traversal of this game, we can see how a skilled player only collects items when they are relevant and close, which leads to hot areas of the map and helps him avoid back tracking. That he can schedule item collection and traversal like this at all indicates that the levels were designed with this sort of progression in mind.
Of course, regular players might not realize that there's an optimal order to collecting items and solving puzzles. They may backtrack to previous areas unnecessarily, or miss a key item and be unable to progress. But because the items and puzzles are staged both spatially and on a timeline, the player who wanders around looking for the next step should find himself returning to the same areas over and over. If there's something left to be done in one room, there's probably an item or puzzle in a room close by as well. This design serves to shrink the search space for the player, to localize the area which requires extra focus. I'm sure many players do this unconsciously without realizing that they are being guided by the game design.
Recursive Unlocking in Practice
There's one specific moment where the player suddenly makes a long arc back through the first floor of the mansion, revisiting the areas where the game began. You can see this in the video at about 35 seconds in, which puts it at roughly 60% of the way through the game (it occurs 51 minutes into the speed run). This is a great example of the Recursive Unlocking pattern because it shows how the designers use this map layout to control tension and pacing.
At this point in the game the player has been all over the mansion. Then they left the mansion and spent some significant time (about 15 minutes of speed run time; 16% of the total game time) in the guardhouse. They then returned to the mansion and fought a boss (the giant snake, second appearance). This lead to a new area of the mansion that the player has seen but been unable to access (the library on the second floor), and eventually deposits the player back in the long hall next to the dining room where the game begins. The next destination for the player is the courtyard, which is accessed from the top-right corner of the map, and to get there the player passes back through the main hall and a bunch of other rooms that appeared early in the game.
We can see in the traversal visualization that this is one of the few times the player actually has to cross the whole mansion map without doing anything on the way. This trip serves a couple of purposes. On some level, it is comforting for the player to revisit these early areas, as they are familiar and the location of nearby saves and health has been long since memorized. On the other hand, the passage also serves to ratchet tension up as the player approaches a new area (the courtyard basement): the zombies that the player originally faced in these halls have now been replaced with giant spiders and hunters, both of which are pretty hard to kill. And finally, this section serves as a reminder of where we are; it brings us back to the beginning of the game and reestablishes the mansion in our memory. This is the last time the player will see the mansion; after traveling through the courtyard basement the he continues to the laboratory, which is the last environment in the game. So the last bit of the mansion that we see is the area that introduced us to the mansion to begin with. It is these rooms that we'll remember the best when the game is over.
Using Traversal to Fight Fatigue
Another interesting aspect of this visualization is the way that the player moves between the four main environments: the mansion, the courtyard, the guardhouse, and finally the laboratory. These areas all look very different; the mansion has huge ceilings, Victorian stylings, and lots of zombies. The courtyard is outdoors, and has zombie dogs, snakes, and eventually hunters. The guardhouse is a wooden structure, old and dilapidated compared to the mansion, and it's overrun by spiders. The lab is all metal hallways and complex piping, with sliding doors and glowing screens--another big departure from the previous areas.
The mansion accounts for the biggest chunk of the game, but it's less than half (43%). One fourth of the whole game takes place in the laboratory, and the guardhouse and courtyard combined account for the remaining 30%. In terms of rooms, the mansion itself is the most dense (59 rooms visited), followed by the lab (21 rooms), with the guardhouse and courtyard about tying for third (with 18 and 17 rooms respectively). These areas are not reused much; the player generally enters one of these areas, solves a bunch of puzzles (another hot spot in the traversal), and then leaves, never to return again (the courtyard is sort of an exception--it gets traversed twice).
The four major locations in Resident Evil look distinct and play differently to prevent player fatigue. After solving a bunch of statue puzzles and placing gems into stone eye sockets for a few hours, the player is ready for a change. Leaving the mansion gives the designers an opportunity to change up the pace of the game, introduce new enemies, and just give the player a break from the areas he's already seen over and over again. Given that the entire design of the Resident Evil map is based on recursion over the same key areas, these secondary spots are an attempt to prevent monotony.
It's also interesting to note that by looking at how much time the player spends in each room, we can sort of get a sense of how the design changes from area to area. The speed runner in our video goes through the mansion rooms at an average of 37 seconds per room. The mansion is primarily a traversal puzzle. Time spent examining the environment isn't recorded by this data, as the speed runner did not bother. The guardhouse is similar: 36 seconds per room. But the courtyard and laboratory areas are much longer: 53 seconds per room and 59 seconds per room respectively. Perhaps the difference in speed is related to an intentional change of pace between these areas, or perhaps it is a side-effect of the development process. Either way, it seems clear that the rooms in the mansion and guardhouse feel different than those in the courtyard and laboratory because they are passed through so much more quickly.
Other Fun Facts
Here's a couple of other interesting tidbits I gleaned from this data.
The hunters are introduced almost exactly half-way through the game.
The door opening animation, which plays between rooms to mask the room load time, takes about 5 seconds. In total, the accumulated cost of this load time is about 25% of the total play time of this speed run.
Arrange Mode (used for this test) moves the locations of items around on the map, but doesn't generally disrupt the order or point in progression in which they appear.
Visualization of player data can give us interesting insights into how games like Resident Evil work on the macro level. Using a speed run for this sort of visualization is ideal because it removes any bias and confusion that might stem from individual player sensibilities and shows us something close to the path that the level designers intended. In Resident Evil's case, the Recursive Unlocking pattern is used to control the pace of the game, the flow of the narrative, the progression of enemies and weapons, and even to force a change of scenery on the player, all while maintaining a non-linear feel. This sort of analysis reveals how much thought actually went into the construction of the layout of this game. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another Adventure game from the Resident Evil era that pulls off such a tight and formal traversal; this level design is clearly the product of serious planning. The data here shows that the layout of Spencer Mansion and its surrounding areas was probably the single most difficult part of the Resident Evil design, but the work that Capcom's designers put into it made the game the masterpiece that it is.
Visitor Comments:
Posted by: Tom (126.96.36.199) on 2011-06-12 22:43:27
Ooh! I wanna say it first! So... are Capcom the masters of unlocking?
Posted by: Dave (184.108.40.206) on 2011-06-13 09:46:04
LOL@Tom. Nice!
Great analysis, Chris. This really helped me understand one of the key ingredients of great level design. You articulated perfectly a feeling I had about the game but couldn't identify. You've also justified my feeling that this game really is a masterpiece of the genre.
I think Chris is the real master of unlocking...key elements of game design. :)
Posted by: REDVWIN (22.214.171.124) on 2011-06-13 13:42:29
Nice comeback! Hey Chris... any idea how does it work in the Resident Evil Outbreak series? Specially in the "Decisions, decisions" Scenario... would be very interesting to get your opinion about that....
There are some "abstract" aspects that an analysis can't account like, for example, the fear experimented and also the randomness in the necessary combat sequences (health, weapon used, ammo, hit%, etc).
Please continue with this great features! ;D
Compare to remake?
Posted by: Nat (126.96.36.199) on 2011-06-14 23:15:23
I'd like to see a side by side comparing the original and the Gamecube remake as far as the map experience goes; it would be interesting to see. :)
Posted by: Paul de Vrijer (126.96.36.199) on 2011-07-20 10:58:16
Very interesting analysis and I'm glad that more people are willing to delve deeper into the design of horror games.
However, your speed map does mask some problems. For one, Resident Evil does not give clear directions were players can go and hints have to be found. Multiple rooms are open to explore simultaniously and rooms often only have one point of enterance. Thus, the backtracking itself isn't a result of map-design, but of gameplay design. Players wander through the building because they do not know where to go. An experience the designers were probably aiming for, but your map and data make it seem that it is all in the design of the location. Not so.
For instance, when one finds the sword key, multiple rooms open up, if one can correctly recall the rooms which were locked before, traversal will be quicker, but if players don't know where to go, they have to walk through the very same rooms again.
Now I know this is just a minor glimpse at a possible scientific analysis of map design, but it would be far better to review 100+ videos of first time players and map their routes. Even a handful of blindrun players would give a better look on the map design.
I don't think what you say is faulty, but your choice of a speed gamer has some serious influence and making generalizations about the game design feels pretty off-mark.
So really, all the map does is show the most efficient route required to complete the game, leaving many interesting data elements on the floor.
Wouldn't a display of the 'most efficient' route elevate mapdesign in every case? Compared to first timers?
I'm not saying RE was badly designed, it clearly wasn't. I just think you come to a hasty (but right) conclusion by using the wrong set of data and method.
Posted by: Chris (188.8.131.52) on 2011-07-21 10:43:15
I agree that the speedrun data does not, in any way, represent an average player. Wandering around is certainly part of the Resident Evil design, but each player does this differently; without an analysis of many many players (as you suggest), I think it would be difficult to draw conclusions about how players actually respond to this map.
But that's not what I'm trying to do here. I'm specifically looking at the fastest path--the path through the game where wandering is eliminated. The reason I think that path is interesting is that I think level designers think in terms of the fastest path, with ancillary areas hanging off the sides. Thus by looking at the most efficient route we can glean a little bit of information about how the map was constructed.
For example, this analysis shows that there is almost always an effort to localize a particular puzzle and its relevant pieces to a specific area; if there's something to do where you are now, there's probably something else to do nearby. This is a purposeful design consideration, and one that I wouldn't have noticed without this data.
Individual players may or may not actually clear an area as they go--the game is certainly designed to encourage some wandering and exploration, as evidenced by the way that enemies increase in power over time. But since every player is bound to play differently, my analysis focused on the design of the map rather than the way it is consumed by individuals. And for that purpose, I think the speed run data is actually very good; the signal-to-noise ratio is very high, and we are given a little window into what the designers were thinking when they put this game together.
Posted by: Paul de Vrijer (126.96.36.199) on 2011-07-25 12:39:40
I do think your speed-data can be used to check map-efficiency, but I think there is a better designed aspect added to RE's map system you perhaps overlooked. One that has more influence than puzzle positions.
The gradual unlocking of areas: Players obtain keys and new areas open up, not just a specific room (although that happens too).
You can literally layer the progress by seeing what gets unlocked at what point (or timeframe), enlarging the map with each step. Perhaps in a future analysis, you could include this in your methods of analysis.
Still, I applaud you for taking a scientific approach to games that radically differs from the stale "Do violent VG affect behavior?".
VideoGames desperately need mature research, we are running 20 years behind as it is...
Posted by: Chris (18.104.22.168) on 2011-07-26 00:04:08
You can literally layer the progress by seeing what gets unlocked at what point (or timeframe), enlarging the map with each step.
Yep. I call this gradually increasing problem space "recursive unlocking." It's the key to RE1 map design, hands down.
Posted by: NESfag (188.8.131.52) on 2011-11-15 03:17:33
Nice article but I think the use of a speedrun can be misleading and lead to a few generalizations.
Puzzles and key items only work in "hot spots" for like half of them.
For the other half the placement of the puzzle solving item will not be in a room nearby but in another "hot spot" or even in another area of the game.
The speedrunner does not show this because he knows about it: for example, the product you find on the east aisle of the mansion is used to kill the plant located on the west aisle, which are pretty far from each other to be considered the same "hot spot".
However the speedrunner just picks it up on its way to do something else.
Also most puzzles or locked door that will open a new big area do not work in hotspot either, but instead either makes you go all around the place, or backtrack a lot. For example after the guardhouse you get a need key, and you're told by the game (Wesker tells you) to go back to the house and check any locked door. And after this part you still need to backtrack through the house and the garden before opening the underground.
Another couple of puzzles which do not work in hot spots are those related to getting new weapons. The broken shotgun used to get the shotgun is on the opposite aisle again. The jewel to get the Magnum is not in the same "hot spot" either. However this helps us to tell
something else
on the design of RE that would need a separate study...
The Mansion Stairs by the Serum Room
Posted by: Clayton Morin (220.127.116.11) on 2012-11-07 19:30:38
I have noticed everyone's maps (including the in-game one) are off at the stairs by the Serum Room... The stairs from the 1st to the 2nd floor don't line up by a lot, but the rest of the place lines up perfectly...
Great article! Also, a correction.
Posted by: Carcinogen (126.96.36.199) on 2013-04-08 17:34:56
First up, I wanna say there is a citation error here: All the videos on the channel UltimateSpeedRuns were reuploads from speeddemosarchive.com.
The real runner's name is Damien "Dragondarch" Moody.
This is a fantastic analysis. Honestly, I don't think using a speedrunner as the source data was a bad thing at all, because you can still examine any possible route changes and come to the same conclusion.
I analyzed and interpreted the games in much the same way through my own experience speedrunning them, followed by reviewing the way I handled my first playthroughs. Level design and scenario design which forces the player to think and destroys his expectations is what makes a survival horror game great. This lays out the reason why I think the REmake is intrinsically the best Survival Horror game of all time and why I crap all over RE4. I would actually like to use the term "recursive unlocking" myself.
Game Developer
Posted by: Attilio Carotenuto (18.104.22.168) on 2013-10-23 04:51:10
This analysis is simply astounding, it really highlights how much time they spent on designing even the smallest bits of the game area, and your data visualisation is a great idea for showing this.
I'd be very interested to see the same approach applied to another similar game to see if some patterns are recurring in the genre.
Great read! Reading this in 2013
Posted by: Mat (188.8.131.52) on 2013-12-08 11:12:03
Hey Chris
Great read; I used to visit your site way back when and recently finished the original RE trilogy again and thought I'd visit your site again.
It is however the first time I am reading this article - which is awesome!
A dude named Dave wrote above: "You articulated perfectly a feeling I had about the game but couldn't identify" which is damn true! I always felt that RE's environments were amazing and intricate, but this just made me understand why.
Again, great article, now I'd love to read your views on RE6 and it's fairly linear structure compared to the Recursive Unlocking design of the originals
Leave a comment.
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text:
Just thought I should spread the word that amazon is having a gold box sale on Hot pursuit for 39.99 here. Also Dragon Age 2 is on there for 40 as well all day. Maybe that is a bigger deal than hot pursuit anyways and I shoulda attached this thread to that. Anyways, I'll go ponder this on my own for a while, enjoy!
Hey this is on sale for an hour guys!
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20 November 2012
Recent storm activity over the weekend is a timely reminder of the need for residents to be prepared for summer storms.
Lockyer Valley Mayor Steve Jones, said while we can't stop storms, we can prepare for them.
"To be storm ready, leaves should be cleaned from gutters regularly and households should have an emergency kit containing a flashlight, batteries, non perishable food, bottled water, a first aid kit and a battery operated radio," he said.
The Australian Early Warning Network (EWN) provides free emergency alerts about damaging weather such as hail, flash flooding, damaging winds, cyclone and bushfires.
Residents are able to register to receive warnings via SMS to mobiles, email, voicemail (text to voice) and desktop alerts by logging onto Council's website and filling out a form at www.lockyervalley.qld.gov.au/ewn.
"By using this service, residents will be able to prepare themselves for serious threat. Receiving an early warning provides additional time for people to take appropriate action and protect their property," Cr Jones said.
"A series of storm messages are also being uploaded to Council's Facebook and Youtube pages each week providing useful information to better prepare for storms."
"When a storm does hit the region, staff are continually updating our Facebook page with vital information including road closures and emergency phone numbers," he said.
The Lockyer Valley often experiences severe storms at this time of year so the time to start preparing is now.
Don't leave it to the last minute – prepare your property and your emergency kit today.