Book: Absurdities by Heath Robinson
For those of you who haven't heard of William Heath Robinson, more commonly known as Heath Robinson, he was an English artist who lived from 1872 - 1944. He is mainly known for his cartoons, which frequently involve very complex inventions that are being used to carry out relatively simple jobs. So well did he capture the British public's imagination with these cartoons, that his name started being used as part of a common phrase ("Heath-Robinson contraption"), although this phrase is not used so much now.
The book, Absurdities, is one of a number that between them collect together Heath Robinson's cartoon work, although it must be noted here that he undertook other work as well, such as illustrating books and advertising artwork, which he actually preferred to cartooning. Topics covered by the cartoons in this book include modesty, several of the "Flat Life" series, various sports, how they put the lines on kilts and a painful-looking way to remove warts from the top of the head. The level of detail that is evident in almost every drawing cannot be emphasised enough; the clsoer you look, the more you see. Robinson also had a knack for capturing people in a cartoony way without going as far as flat-out caricatures. I suppose i'd call them "half-caricatures" but there's probably a proper name for them. Not to mention the numerous bits of patched-up machinery that make up his contraptions - wheels with broken spokes held together by a wooden board across them, ropes and belts tied together in several places, and metal plates welded and bolted together in place of one larger plate.
All in all, an engrossing book. I'm glad my parents kept it, although it's showing its age a bit now. If you can get a copy cheap somewhere, do so, and discover a truly talented British artist.
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Online Flash Game: Samorost
If you haven't yet heard of this enchanting little Flash-coded game, where have you been? Samorost is a simple, 7-screen (excluding linking, intro and outtro animations) adventure game. Produced by the guy (guys? gals? sorry, i can't read czech) at Amanita Design, an evidently quite well-known company (in their home country anyway), Samorost has become something of a hit online, gaining mention in a number of popular forums (i found it at the PC Gamer Forum but that's by no means even the first place it was posted at). Taking it's cue from general adventure games, such as Myst (don't groan yet), yet being a much shorter game and featuring a rather more whimsical yet engrossing game world, during the game you have to solve a number of puzzles, by finding the right things to click on at the right time. it works better than such big commercial games as Myst for a numebr of reasons, apart from those mentioned - it is forgiving (you can't die), and it has replayability (to see what you missed first time around). The order in which you carry out actions (this is Flash, so "actions" are limited to you clicking on certain areas of the screen) is mostly unimportant. The world in whcih Samorost is set is populated by little people and creatures living amongst trees and grass and moss and undergrowth. Your character lives in one rock, and happens to spot with a telescope that another rock is heading straight for his (or her) home. Oh no! the aim of the game is to change the course of the incoming rock so that it misses your home and leaves you safe for another day, and the game doesn't start proper until your rocket lands on the incoming rock. The landscapes have been crafted from real photos of trees and woodland stuff, nicely made into large landscapes for the little people. The people and creatures themselves are decptively simple in appearance, but if you look closely you'll see that the animations are very detailed. The creatures and people do actually seem almost alive - if they were more detailed in appearance you could be watching a film.
All in all, Samorost is a great way to waste a half hour or so. I can only hope Amanita Design see it in their hearts to make another, bigger, longer game in this style. I haven't seen any other online games like it.
Samorost can be found here:
Intro.html
(NOTE: you need a Flash-enabled browser)
Also don't forget to check out the main site. I had a look at the Flash Portfolio for Blanka Sperkova and there's some amazing stuff there.
If you haven't yet heard of this enchanting little Flash-coded game, where have you been? Samorost is a simple, 7-screen (excluding linking, intro and outtro animations) adventure game. Produced by the guy (guys? gals? sorry, i can't read czech) at Amanita Design, an evidently quite well-known company (in their home country anyway), Samorost has become something of a hit online, gaining mention in a number of popular forums (i found it at the PC Gamer Forum but that's by no means even the first place it was posted at). Taking it's cue from general adventure games, such as Myst (don't groan yet), yet being a much shorter game and featuring a rather more whimsical yet engrossing game world, during the game you have to solve a number of puzzles, by finding the right things to click on at the right time. it works better than such big commercial games as Myst for a numebr of reasons, apart from those mentioned - it is forgiving (you can't die), and it has replayability (to see what you missed first time around). The order in which you carry out actions (this is Flash, so "actions" are limited to you clicking on certain areas of the screen) is mostly unimportant. The world in whcih Samorost is set is populated by little people and creatures living amongst trees and grass and moss and undergrowth. Your character lives in one rock, and happens to spot with a telescope that another rock is heading straight for his (or her) home. Oh no! the aim of the game is to change the course of the incoming rock so that it misses your home and leaves you safe for another day, and the game doesn't start proper until your rocket lands on the incoming rock. The landscapes have been crafted from real photos of trees and woodland stuff, nicely made into large landscapes for the little people. The people and creatures themselves are decptively simple in appearance, but if you look closely you'll see that the animations are very detailed. The creatures and people do actually seem almost alive - if they were more detailed in appearance you could be watching a film.
All in all, Samorost is a great way to waste a half hour or so. I can only hope Amanita Design see it in their hearts to make another, bigger, longer game in this style. I haven't seen any other online games like it.
Samorost can be found here:
Intro.html
(NOTE: you need a Flash-enabled browser)
Also don't forget to check out the main site. I had a look at the Flash Portfolio for Blanka Sperkova and there's some amazing stuff there.
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Book: The Dirk Gently Omnibus by Douglas Adams
Two books in one (Dirk gently's Hollistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul), this is a not-so-sci-fi-but-at-least-as-strange offering from the much-loved and much-missed Douglas Adams (of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy fame, for those of you in the dark). Even more so than in the "Hitchhiker's..." books, the focus of both of these is on more than one main character. There's the wholly eccentric Dirk Gently, who only discovered his skills by accident when he was at university (and subsequently had to pull a disappearing act), an electric monk, a very old university professor, Thor (he of mythology), a greedy lawyer and his wife, and an eagle with nasty claws, amongst others.
In the first book, Dirk gently's Hollistic Detective Agency, Dirk pops up when an old friend of his starts acting strangely. There's also the little matter of the strange sofa (it was small enough to get into the stairwell, but then too big to get out), an unsolved murder, a ghost, an electric monk that's on the loose, and not forgetting what a certain professor's been up to in his spare time (travelling). Adams manages to weave a number of suitable strange and initially apparently unconnected events into a pretty good story. The humour, well, I personally enjoy it and find it funny, but i can see how it is more of an acquired taste than that of the "Hitchhiker's..." books - it relies more on weirdness (if that's possible). Some people may get frustrated that most of the threads don't really come together until about two thirds/three quarters of the way through the story (a pattern followed to a lesser degree by the second book in this omnibus) - and i seriously doubt you'll be able to solve the mystery unless you already have an idea of what it is before you start reading.
In the second book, The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul, there is more of an unfractured plotline running through it. Dirk, Thor and the nice woman who takes him in are followed more than the characters in the first book. The story is possibly a little stranger than in the first book, although this shouldn't put you off. The one thing i didn't like about this vook was the ending. It's probably too clever for me (or i'm being too stupid =+) but, well, it seemed a bit of an anticlimax. In fact, for me, it WAS an anticlimax. I did not expect Adams to do the copout thing of not actually telling the reader how a major problem, which was the focus that the plot was based around, was solved, but that is what happens. Maybe that's the point and it's supposed to be part of the funniness, or maybe there's some little detail from near the beginning that you're supposed to have memorised, but for me it spoiled an otherwise cracking good book.
Overall, i'd give this collection a 4/5, unless you've never read any douglas adams before. If that's the case, it's more like 3/5 unless/until you decide you like his style of writing. Both books have a less wide-ranging appeal than Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Dirk Gently Omnibus
HGTTG
Two books in one (Dirk gently's Hollistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul), this is a not-so-sci-fi-but-at-least-as-strange offering from the much-loved and much-missed Douglas Adams (of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy fame, for those of you in the dark). Even more so than in the "Hitchhiker's..." books, the focus of both of these is on more than one main character. There's the wholly eccentric Dirk Gently, who only discovered his skills by accident when he was at university (and subsequently had to pull a disappearing act), an electric monk, a very old university professor, Thor (he of mythology), a greedy lawyer and his wife, and an eagle with nasty claws, amongst others.
In the first book, Dirk gently's Hollistic Detective Agency, Dirk pops up when an old friend of his starts acting strangely. There's also the little matter of the strange sofa (it was small enough to get into the stairwell, but then too big to get out), an unsolved murder, a ghost, an electric monk that's on the loose, and not forgetting what a certain professor's been up to in his spare time (travelling). Adams manages to weave a number of suitable strange and initially apparently unconnected events into a pretty good story. The humour, well, I personally enjoy it and find it funny, but i can see how it is more of an acquired taste than that of the "Hitchhiker's..." books - it relies more on weirdness (if that's possible). Some people may get frustrated that most of the threads don't really come together until about two thirds/three quarters of the way through the story (a pattern followed to a lesser degree by the second book in this omnibus) - and i seriously doubt you'll be able to solve the mystery unless you already have an idea of what it is before you start reading.
In the second book, The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul, there is more of an unfractured plotline running through it. Dirk, Thor and the nice woman who takes him in are followed more than the characters in the first book. The story is possibly a little stranger than in the first book, although this shouldn't put you off. The one thing i didn't like about this vook was the ending. It's probably too clever for me (or i'm being too stupid =+) but, well, it seemed a bit of an anticlimax. In fact, for me, it WAS an anticlimax. I did not expect Adams to do the copout thing of not actually telling the reader how a major problem, which was the focus that the plot was based around, was solved, but that is what happens. Maybe that's the point and it's supposed to be part of the funniness, or maybe there's some little detail from near the beginning that you're supposed to have memorised, but for me it spoiled an otherwise cracking good book.
Overall, i'd give this collection a 4/5, unless you've never read any douglas adams before. If that's the case, it's more like 3/5 unless/until you decide you like his style of writing. Both books have a less wide-ranging appeal than Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Dirk Gently Omnibus
HGTTG
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