Dan Dickinson: The Primary Vivid Weblog

Testing a slightly better version of my newsscript. Please work.

It is Final Fantasy 9.
Picked this sucker up from EB yesterday, took it home (home home, not
Sheldon home), and just sat and played almost non-stop till 1 AM. Woke
up this morning, played just about till it was time for lunch with
Jason. Came home, played some more.
I have not felt a level of sheer enjoyment and fun like this in years.
It’s clicking on every level, and I think it’s a perfect end to the 32
bit line of FF games. It looks beautiful, and there’s enough FMV to make
your jaw drop for most of the first disc. The music is a perfect blend
of the old melodies along with some new sounds. The characters all have
distinct personalities, there’s enough diversionary stuff to keep your
eyes peeled.
And the gameplay…oh dear god, it’s heavenly. The abilities system is
FINALLY something that seems resonable. MP are back. The limit break bar
is back from FF7. And 4 characters to a party! This is unheard of since
FF3!
Anyone with a PSX who loved FF3 is hereby forced to go buy it, trade for
it, steal it, or whatever – just get your bloody hands on it NOW.
As for the rest of my weekend – lunch with Jason WHONG~! went very well.
We gossiped a lot about the industry, and I got a number of hot
exclusives regarding future moves in the industry. I think I heard at
least 3 things that made my jaw drop WIDE open. One will be announced
tomorrow or the day after. Anyhow, much love to Jason for being such a
wonderful guy.
In an unrelated story, Kate told me an amusing anecdote the other day;
it seems that she was recently out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant,
and the drink service was a little slow. So, taking a page from the
Mentos Corporation, my baby went into the kitchen and got the drinks
herself. If only she had a roll of Mentos, it would have been perfect.
Hmm, there’s an idea for a Christmas present…
In case you haven’t heard, I’m going to Kate’s this Tuesday. Won’t be
back till Sunday next weekend, so no updates for a while. But keep it
real, people.

I have just completed my irritating 264 lab, so I can take a break to
let you, the reader, in on my life once more. I mean, what the hell else
are you coming here for?
The Mos Def/BEP show was last night, and for the first time in my two
and a half years on CCC, I worked Stage Crew. To put this in perspective
– I worked Security for 11 shows, Crew Head for 5 of those. I figured it
was time for a change.
On the plus side – Stage lets you get the feeling that you’ve actually
done something. Stage means you can actually watch some of the show
without worrying about watching people. Stage lets you talk to more of
the crews, which is enjoyable in its own way. Stage gets three meals,
plus Manos after the show if you’re up for it. Stage gets the cool
colored shirt. Stage gets passes automagically. Stage gets to interact
with the band a LOT.
On the minus side – Stage gets there early, is there all day, and leaves
late. Stage is a lot of heavy lifting, pulling, pushing, etc. Stage is
the reason that if I stretch right now, it hurts.
All in all, I enjoyed it a lot, and will definitely be doing it again in
the future. I’d like to thank, in semi-random order: Ryan, Joe, Stefan,
Alex, Chris, Christina, Jess, John, Leon, Mike, Henry, Jimmy from the
BEPs, Jack from Northeastern, and all of Stage Crew that wasn’t named
earlier in this thank you. As for the concert itself – I liked what I
heard of BEP. I didn’t enjoy Mos Def.
In VERY happy news, Henry Bloom (who is now the Selections director)
told me that A Perfect Circle is looking for tour dates. WOOOOOOOOOOOT!
So yeah, I can’t move right now, even though I really need to go get
lunch. I have one more prelim this week (woohoo), and then next Tuesday
I’m off to Kate’s house. Oh, and this Saturday I’m having a meal with
Jason Whong. Awesome.
Need me? Find me. Love me? Tell me. Hate me? Blow me.