So Acclaim is No More, which didn't come as a huge surprise to anyone. They've been struggling for years, victims of a changing industry and a seemingly never-ending run of bad games and tired licenses.

Speaking of tired licenses: I worked with Acclaim on a couple of titles, only one of which was released - Dragonheart, a game which also happens to be our Worst Game Ever; thank God our relationship was terminated - and I can't say that it was a pleasant experience. I met some good people at Acclaim, and I enjoyed the business trips to New York whilst working with them, but as a publisher they were one of the absolute worst. (Now watch how that statement comes back to bite me on the ass.)

Alien Invasion launched today. Wheee. Kudos to the team who have worked extremely hard to produce what I, quite subjectively, have deemed The. Greatest. Expansion. Pack. Ever. It's packed to the rafters with revolutionary features, plus super-cool aliens and Stuff Blowing Up. It don't get no better than that. Oh, and watch the new video. It's fantastic.

I think Global Frequency has a shot at my top spot for new TV show (it premieres early next year on The WB) even though I've yet to see a single frame of footage. Not because it's based on a comic written by the mad but brilliant Warren (Transmetropolitan) Ellis, not because the great Ben (The Tick, Firefly) Edlund is a writer on the show, but because-- well, I won't jinx it. We'll see what - if anything - happens.
  ¶ 09:14 0 comments   

  Bliss!

Recording in-game footage is always a crapshoot, and I don't enjoy it much. It's hard to make things happen just so when you need them to, and usually, when the tape's running and you're in a rush, you screw up. It's a given. I spent a couple of hours today trying to commit ten minutes of Dreamfall to tape, and while the results were decent, they were in no way representative of how beautiful the game looks and how beautifully it plays right now. Luckily, we have plenty of time to get the process right: there won't be any actual in-game footage in wide release until next year - but when that does happen, God damn it'll kick arse. Guaranteed.

Tomorrow, with any luck, I'll get my new PowerMac and assorted accessories, and I'm as giddy as a little schoolgirl. I stopped being excited about PCs a while ago - one is very much like the other, give or take a few frames per second and crashes per day - but the Mac is unchartered territory for me. It's a toy, yes, but probably a very useful one. Motion in particular looks amazing. And I intend to get my grubby mitts on Final Cut Pro HD one of these days. More tomorrow. Hopefully.

In the latest issue of Edge, Doom 3 garnered a respectable seven out of ten; not a bad mark coming from a magazine that's notoriously tough on games, but far below what other magazines - print and online - have endowed upon the long anticipated first-person corridorer. They've mostly averaged in the nine plus region. Which goes to show that expectations count for more than facts. Yes, Doom 3 is a good game. Yes, it's beautiful to look at - but so was Far Cry and Riddick. Is it revolutionary? Not really. Is it an amazing and groundbreaking gameplay experience? Nope. Parts of it are rather dull. So the 'seven' is a reasonably accurate mark: well above average, but not a home run. Of course, you can expect the hardcore to cry bloody murder, but it's good to see Edge sticking to its guns (and opinions), even when it goes against popular opinion.

Lastly, in case you've missed it: the ice on Greenland is melting far faster than feared. If that's allowed to continue unabated, the sea level will rise several meters, which will be disastrous for - well, everyone.
  ¶ 22:07 0 comments   

  Atop the Summer Palace in Beijing, you get a stunning view in every direction, and on a clear day you can see the entire city. Climbing the summit, however, isn't the most pleasant activity when the temperature approaches forty degrees Celsius.

There's no better place to send a text message: 'grt vu!'

What the hell was Underworld all about? There was a lot of blue and black, and tight, squeaky leather; people kept running up and down stairs for no good reason; there were loads of magic guns that rarely had to be reloaded; and I think there were vampires - although they didn't seem to act like vampires - and some 'lycans', which seems to be a fancy word for hairless werewolves. What good are werewolves without hair? Why did everyone chase everyone else? Why did the vampires drink "cloned blood" when there was lots of perfectly good non-cloned blood walking around on two legs? Why did everyone speak in clichés all the time? Was it some sort of clever word game? Was that also why everyone acted like pompous dicks? And why-oh-why were they all so dour? Well, if I had to live in a two-tone world like that, I'd probably be grumpy and pretentious too.

Big on atmosphere, then - as in "let's hit 'em over the head with the atmosphere, lads! Bring on more leather! Oh, and keep the rain machine running, it can't hurt" - and short on story. And logic, for that matter. I tuned out after a while, but I did enjoy myself. Sort of. After all, it was the 'special' version with twenty-three minutes tacked on somewhere. Don't ask me where: I never watched the original. Besides, Kate Beckinsale isn't the worst thing in the world to spend two hours staring at. You don't feel you've completely wasted your time. Still: could have, should have, been better. Oh well. Bring on Blade Trinity.
  ¶ 23:52 0 comments   

  I know a lot of you have trouble getting through to me by e-mail to the old website address - it blocks about ninety percent of my traffic, conveniently enough. I've posted a new, alternative address on a couple of occasions, though I don't want to put it up in any format that can be spambotted. So if you want to reach me - and why the hell wouldn't you? - you'll need to write to the following address:



(See how I'm being Clever here?)

We now return you to your regular programming.

Hi, I'm emailing you for two reasons...

(1). I currently play Anarchy Online and heard of the animated series... and I was wondering if it was the animated series included on the website or a completely different series all together...

(2). I read the first page of your novel, Prophet Without Honour, and I would like to say that it sounds like a great story, and I really hate reading, and since I couldn't get to the second page on the website, I wanted to know where i could buy it.

If you could send a reply it would be a great help and much appreciated :)

Yes, the 'animated series' is the one that's available on the AO website, spanning Four Exciting Episodes. There is no other. Maybe in a distant utopian future, benevolent robot overlords will commission another one. Until then, this is it.

Prophet Without Honour is no longer in print, and unless you can find a copy on eBay or through some kind soul in the community - there ought to be a lot of copies lying around out there, begging to be re-read - you're screwed. Or you could download the PDFs (check the menu on the right of that page), print them, bind them, and take it from there.

Lastly: just caught a sneak peek of the new Anarchy Online - Alien Invasion video a coupla days ago...and people, you have got to buy this expansion pack. Even if you've never set foot on Rubi-Ka, even if you're allergic to online games, even if your skin breaks out in blisters just thinking about it, you need to get this one. It's epic. It's stunning. It's the cream cheese. It's money, baby. It's the best thing to emerge from the AO universe since, well, since cross-dressing leets. It's been a while since I played the game, but I'm definitely diving back in when this baby goes live - which is less than a week from now, on September 1st. The AO community is bigger and better than ever, and filled with lots of gorgeous, scantily clad women (or, alternatively, men). So go order it now. Because I said so.
  ¶ 09:02 1 comments   

  Did I ever post a link to Warren Ellis's brilliantly named blog and 'newsmine'? Highly amusing stuff. Great writer, too. Completely bonkers, yes, but also quite loveable.

Bought an air-conditioner today, just in time for the end of the season - but at fifty percent off, who could say no? I plan ahead. I'll need it for next summer, when it's one thousand degrees outside and I'm trying to work, sleep, or sit quietly and stew. I get very, very grumpy when I'm hot. Granted, a lot of things make me grumpy, but that's exactly why it's good to eliminate one of them.

I seem to be in a first-person mode these days, playing Doom 3 on the PC and Riddick on the Xbox. The latter is a more interesting game, and a real technical accomplishment, looking almost as good as the former - but both are absolutely top notch, and the cream of the current FPS crop.

No photos today. Busy, busy week. The show will commence on Saturday.
  ¶ 22:46 0 comments   

  Don't know how I feel about this one. Five years and four months ago, hell yeah, I'd be in geek heaven. At this point, part of me wishes Lucas would just stop - but part of me, the kid who was bowled over by what he saw on the big screen twenty-odd years ago, also wants to see What Happens Next. And I'd love for the magic to return. Which is why we're all hoping that 'the next one' will be the one to change everything, the one to redeem the horrible crimes on humanity that Lucas committed with the re-releases and Phantom Menace. Yes, Attack of the Clones was watchable, but only in comparison with its disfigured older brother; it was decent popcorn entertainment, but Star Wars is supposed to be so much more than that. It's supposed to be myth. It's supposed to be geek religion. And what else do we have to look forward to? What other epic silver screen sagas are left, now that Lord of the Rings is confined to DVD, Indy to the retirement home, Matrix to the dung heap, and the Alien movies to an infinite number of 'vs' sequels? There's nothing, dammit. Nothing! Oh, we all have our fingers crossed for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. We're all rooting for Kevin Conrad to pull a Lucas, capture the zeitgeist, and create something that will take our breath away. And we're all hoping there's something else around the next corner, something new, something that'll take us by surprise, something epic and wonderful, something we've never seen before...

...but we also know that it doesn't happen very often, that innovation is stifled, that big money usually gets in the way of big cinema. Which is why it's hard to silence that little voice inside you that gets excited by this. Because who knows? It could recapture the magic. It could.
  ¶ 21:37 0 comments   

  It's going to be another hectic week, and the picture-posting - and blogging - may be a bit spotty until the weekend. I'll try and get a couple more photos out there before then, but it probably won't be a daily thing.

Forgot to post this: the Norwegian minister of culture paid us a visit last week, and, amongst other things, gave Dreamfall a quick spin. She didn't do too badly, actually. A TV crew was filming our gaming séance, but I never caught the segment. Don't worry: you didn't miss anything, as they were only allowed to film the E3 demo.

Speaking of Dreamfall footage: something brand new might pop up somewhere very unusual and unexpected at some point in September/October, but nothing's been decided yet. I'll let you know if it happens, where to catch it, and when. Stay tuned.

(And yes, the newspaper did get my last name wrong. As usual.)
  ¶ 23:36 0 comments   

  I shot quite a lot of pictures with my K700 Sony Ericsson mobile in China - hundreds of them - and while the pictures aren't exactly high quality, the portability and anonymity of the phone allowed me to capture scenes that I wouldn't have been able to with my Canon.

The pure, unfettered joy of alcohol.

Since we often spent several hours in taxis during the day, I'd stick the phone out the window - or in - and click away, much to everyone's annoyance.

Our cabbie, caged.

  ¶ 22:57 0 comments   

  The climb up from the entrance to the Summer Palace is quite stunning, and once you get closer to the top, you're able to appreciate all the architectural and decorational details of the structures. Like a lot of things in China, these buildings aren't necessarily that old, but they've usually been carefully reconstructed to look exactly like the originals.

Detail from the Summer Palace. Beijing, July 24th 2004.

  ¶ 21:27 0 comments   

  The following is very much a touristy picture, complete with snapshot-snapping extras in the background, but the old man is such a wonderful character. It was taken just inside the entrance to the 'new' Summer Palace:

"Confucius says, ID tag is needed to get into work every morning."

Check back this evening for another Summer Palace picture.

Been playing Doom 3 quite a bit this past week - to the point of cutting into my shut-eye time - and aside from running very smoothly on my Dell Inspiron 8600 sporting a Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro (very impressive engine), the game is impressively designed and paced, if a bit monotonous in the long run. Yes, it's supposed to be a corridor-shooter, and yes, it does what it's supposed to do, but more variety wouldn't have hurt, particularly in the face of the upcoming Half-Life 2. I also feel that the tension and atmosphere - top-notch for the first hour - suffer a bit from the deluge of monsters and the occasional bit of cheese (the diabolical laughter is rather over-the-top), but that's nit-picking. It's a great game, and it's deservedly topping the sales-charts; a rare thing these days for a PC-only game.

Shame about the excessive copying going on, though, and while that's only to be expected for such a major release, it's still inexcusable. Fewer and fewer publishers make PC games these days, simply because business is bad. Every game copied impacts the balance sheets of both developers and publishers, and people lose their jobs all the time. If you want to keep playing PC games in the future, don't steal. It really is an enormous problem for us, and it makes it hard to get funding for a non-MMO, single-player game...like Dreamfall. So go buy Doom 3, and play with a clear conscience.  ¶ 12:15 0 comments   

  Big Dreamfall deadline today, and we didn't wrap up until quite late in the evening - as always, there were annoying last-minute bugs - but the end result was worth all the hard work. Location one looks amazing, while location two is well underway to become even better. Best of all, every location in the game has its own ambience, its own mood and visual style, and they are all completely unique; not only visually, but also in terms of gameplay. On Monday we're starting with location three (keep in mind that these aren't single-screen locations; rather, they are massive, coherent, connected 3D worlds), which will be very familiar to those of you who have played the first game. So far, we're looking at about a fifty-fifty mix between new and returning locations, but this will change. Expect lots of hitherto unseen bits & pieces of Stark and Arcadia...and beyond.

The lateness of the hour and the tiredness of the mind and body does, however, mean that I don't have the wherewithal to post a picture tonight. Check back tomorrow for two (yes, two) new photos from the Beijing segment of my China trip.

I did manage to squeeze in a movie tonight: A Tale of Two Sisters (Janghwa, Hongryeon), a Korean ghost-story that managed to scare me so thoroughly that I had to turn on the lights in the apartment and put on pop music afterwards. Granted, I'm easily frightened, but I've watched my share of horror movies - Asian and otherwise - and I've grown jaded with black-haired women and ghostly white children...I thought. Sisters was unusually unsettling, disturbing, shocking, and, while quite confusing at times, it has an internal logic that holds up to inspection. It's worth watching twice. If you're a horror fan, you need to see this one. I ordered my copy from DDDHouse in Hong Kong - they're cheap, reliable, and effective.
  ¶ 01:06 0 comments   

  The Old Summer Palace was the first tourist attraction we visited in Beijing, on our second day there, a Saturday. There weren't a lot of people; most go to the 'new' Summer Palace - and you could understand why; there was little left to see at the original site.

Deliverance, Chinese style.

  ¶ 22:32 0 comments   

  Here, finally, is the first Beijing picture. It was taken near the entrance to the Old Summer Palace - Yuan Ming Yuan, which was destroyed during the Opium Wars - and it's pretty self-explanatory:

No shit.

Check back tomorrow for another one. I have temples, temples, and more temples. And also some shots of the Great Wall.

  ¶ 22:50 0 comments   

  Ash vs. Freddy & Jason! We've heard the rumours for a long time, we didn't believe it would ever happen - we didn't allow ourselves to believe - but now it's finally in the realm of possibility. Why the unbridled excitement? It's Ash, for crying out loud. Ash! Evil Dead! (Yes, I'll readily admit to being a fanboy.) Evil Dead II changed my life, and though Army of Darkness failed to light my fire, there's still so much untapped potential in the character. As with all unfulfilled fanboy fantasies, however, chances are that this will fail to live up to the expectations - and, like Aliens vs. Predator, it will most likely be a cheap knock-off designed for a huge opening weekend and a rapid 60% box-office week one drop-off. But a man can always dream...

And why-oh-why couldn't they have set AvP on a distant planet ravaged by fierce storms, thrown in a bunch of gung-ho marines, and basically done a remix of Aliens? Instead we get an ancient pyramid on Antarctica and a team of (oooh!) nerdy scientists. No, I haven't seen it yet, so I shouldn't pass judgement - but honestly, it doesn't sound particularly exciting. Still, if it makes a killing at the box-office, we might see a proper sequel to both movies. A man can always, always dream...
  ¶ 09:36 0 comments   

  This, I believe, is the last of the Shanghai pictures, at least for the time being. I may dig up another worthy candidate from the archives one of these days - but for now, let's close the book on what rapidly became one of my favourite cities in the world, with this photograph:

Red lanterns - red being a lucky colour in China.

  ¶ 22:13 0 comments   

  Technical problems with my PC got in the way of yesterday's Blog. It refused to boot; turns out my iPod may be the culprit. Everything appears to be in working order now (knock on wood, etc.), but by the time I was done fixin', it was waaay past my bedtime. There's another Shanghai picture waiting in the wings, but I can't access it from the office. Check back this evening. Beijing will have to wait a little bit longer.

Exciting things emerging from the Disney animation camp these days, including Glen Keane's Rapunzel Unbraided, American Dog from Chris ('Lilo & Stitch') Sanders, and A Day With Wilbur Robinson. All 3D, all a radical departure from the established Disney style, but all of them looking great. The death of 2D is tragic and pointless, but it appears that Disney hasn't left the animation race yet, and they're spearheading an interesting stylistic mix somewhere between 2D and 3D. And with Pixar releasing, at most, one picture a year, there's certainly room for more animated movies. Shrek 2 disappointed me a bit, the Shark Tale trailers haven't excited me yet, Robots is a long way off, and while The Incredibles are just around the corner, it's good to know that there's more to look forward to on the horizon.
  ¶ 12:45 0 comments   

  Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is sounding better by the day. If they can pull off all the features they've promised - and I have no doubt that they will - this could turn out to be a crowning achievement in modern gaming...and a very hard act to follow for anyone who's releasing a PS2 game this autumn. Sales numbers topping five million are pretty much guaranteed. You have to wonder where they'll take the franchise next - but at this point it hardly matters. GTA is a fantastic example of a game that's been both commercially and artistically successful, and which appeals to both the mainstream and the hard-core. Not only is that unique; it's commendable.

The final Shanghai picture (at least in the current batch) isn't particularly exciting. It just happened to be a nice combination of colours, textures, and shapes.

Yellow walls - Shanghai, Monday July 19th, 2004.

Tomorrow - hopefully - the first of several Beijing photos.
  ¶ 11:49 0 comments   

  I guess the weather gods were listening. Last night was stormy - rain and thunder, sturm und drang - and today has been refreshingly cool (and minty) compared with the rest of the week. It's rather pleasant outside now, and if it weren't for my on-again-off-again-aaand-here-we-go-again cold, I'd be outside, frolicking. In the buff. Yes.

Red door on Dongtai Lu, Shanghai.

I love these little backstreet nooks and crannies. Point your camera anywhere in Shanghai, and there's a worthy shot. Textures fascinate me: I like things that are worn down, used, have a history, a secret. That red door, for instance, is just wonderful. To my eyes, this is a perfect location in a game or a movie. I want to see what's behind the door. I want to explore this space.
  ¶ 23:05 0 comments   

  Not sure if you are aware of this, but you need to check it out a.s.a.p.
Best Adventure Game of 2004.
http://www.homestarrunner.com/pqtrailer.html
http://www.homestarrunner.com/disk4of12.html

Thanks, Nick! The trailer is hilarious, the game even more so.

Coincidentally, nineteen (or so) years ago, I made a text-based comedy adventure for the Commodore 64 called 'The Peasant's Quest'. It featured a peasant (you) embarking on a quest - ergo the name - and that's about all I remember.
  ¶ 09:50 0 comments   

  It's been the hottest August in memory, and a bit of rain and cool weather would be very welcome now. It's hard to sleep; the air is thick and still, and my apartment doesn't cool down until three or four in the morning. Excessive use of the fan has already given me a persistent cold, so now I'm just sweating it out.

Big deadline for Dreamfall next Friday, and we had a graphics review yesterday that went very well. The latest locations look amazing, even better than the previous batch - great stuff. Wish I could show off some of it, but it'll have to wait a while. We might post some new concept art in the coming weeks, though, over at Dreamfall.com, so stay tuned. I'll give you a heads up if and when that happens.

As promised, more bikes, drying laundry, lanterns, stone kitty-cats, and the colour red - welcome back to Shanghai:

Bicycle theft didn't appear to be much of a problem in China. Nor did anyone worry much about their laundry. Refreshing.

  ¶ 21:17 2 comments   

  I forgot to mention a couple of things. First off, we're exploring the possibility of porting Dreamfall to the Mac, but we're not having much luck in getting through to the right people at Apple - go figure; you'd think they would want more games on their hardware. Since we're new to this whole Apple thing, we could use some help. There's very little information to be found on their developer website. So if anyone out there knows anything that might be useful - like a name and a number, or an e-mail address - drop me a line (the address is 'ragnar.tornquist' over at 'gmail.com'). I have been contacted by developers familiar with the Mac in the past regarding TLJ, but unfortunately those mails are long lost; it'd be interesting to hear from someone in that camp.

Secondly: The Longest Journey is now available in a 2-CD edition. How did they squeeze it down from four discs? Magic. Or possibly a new audio compressor. At any rate, this is definitely worth picking up, especially if you don't yet own a legitimate copy - and it's a real steal at only $15.
  ¶ 21:56 0 comments   

  I've come down with something - probably a cold, though leprosy is always a possibility - so this'll be blessedly short. And since I posted three photos yesterday, there won't be one today. I'm almost through the first batch, and I won't have time to go digging for more until Sunday. Check back tomorrow, though, for another 'bicycles, mopeds, red lanterns, and air conditioner' picture. Wheee.

Did I mention how insanely great it is to be able to stream music from iTunes via the AirPort Express to my stereo? I'm in love. It's really sad, isn't it?
  ¶ 21:18 0 comments   

  China appears eager to rid itself of its communist iconography, from propaganda posters to statues of Chairman Mao with his Happy Workers:

Still preferable to collecting porcelain pigs.

There was absolutely no shortage of Mao's Little Red Book in the antiques markets. Thousands upon thousands of copies were for sale, stacked feet high on the street and on shelves - and only tourists, including us, appeared interested:

I imagine they've been going door to door collecting these. And they make a killing off of them.

And sometimes you have to wonder just what they were thinking:

I think we were perfectly justified in being afraid of the Chinese back during the Cold War...

Suffice it to say, I returned with Chairman Mao's wise words, and a couple of interesting posters - I'll post shots some other day.
  ¶ 22:18 0 comments   

  Hi Ragnar

One Norwegian's not supposed to nitpick the English of another Norwegian, but twice during the past few days you've used the word "reigns" when I'm pretty sure you've meant the word "reins" ;o) So I just had to tell you, in case the word figures in Dreamfall...

15 months to go? Have to start scraping together some money for that hardware update...

toremygg of the Divide

You are, of course, right. Not to sound cocky, but I pride myself on my spelling and grammar, and it's embarrassing to admit that I probably wouldn't have caught that one myself. Thank God for observant readers. And also for the 'edit Blog' function. The world shall never know of my weakness, mwoahahaha! (Except that I just told everyone.)
  ¶ 18:18 0 comments   

  Here is today's picture:

Shanghai backstreets; Sunday, July 18th, 2004.

  ¶ 23:30 0 comments   

  Watched the pilot episode of Lost, J. J. Abrams' (Alias) new show - it'll air on ABC this September - and enjoyed it very much. A mix between Lord of the Flies and Jurassic Park (except not really; it's impossible to pigeon-hole it), there are already twists-a-plenty in the first hour and a half, which bodes well for the future of the show. Abrams knows how to play with expectations - after all, no one would ever call Alias predictable. I won't spoil the premise of Lost, except to say that it's set on an island in the Pacific Ocean following a plane crash...and if that sounds a lot like Cast Away, don't worry; there's a lot more to it than that. Tune in on September 22nd to see for yourself.

I've been tracking the development of the next Superman movie for a while, so I should comment briefly on the latest, uh, developments; namely that Bryan Singer (X-Men, The Usual Suspects) has taken over the reins and stepped bravely into the fray. Of course, this happened a while ago, but I haven't had a chance to say "thank God" yet - so: Thank God. With 'McG', Brett Ratner, and Michael Bay out of the way - three hacks Hollywood would be better off without - there's an excellent chance that the movie will be good. How this will affect the X-Men franchise, however, is anyone's guess.
  ¶ 19:38 0 comments   

  Traffic has really gone through the (admittedly quite low) roof here at RagnarTornquist.com. Yesterday saw record numbers, and we've been steadily increasing in both hits and unique visitors during the first week of August. Could the China pictures have something to do with it? We don't know, but we're not about to risk losing our audience, so expect semi-daily (as far as that's possible) picture updates from now until...well, a very long time from now. Once we're done with China, it's time to go digging into the archives. This year alone, there's plenty to choose from: L.A., New York, Japan, the Philippines - and, of course, Norway. Picture bonanza!
  ¶ 09:13 0 comments   

  This is absolutely worth watching.
  ¶ 23:23 0 comments   

  It's hot today. Bright sunlight slips cunningly through the Ikea blinds in my living room, making it close to impossible to stay inside. The only air conditioning I have is a fan in the kitchen window; it doesn't do much good unless you're in the kitchen, which is why I'm blogging from the kitchen table. After what has been (so they tell me) a cold and wet July, August appears hell-bent on redeeming the summer. And while I would have appreciated a respite after the heat of China, it's nice to know that we still have another month left before autumn falls.

Attended the wedding of good buddy and Longest Journey composer Bjørn Arve Lagim yesterday, in scenic Kongsberg, and had a fantastic time. The ceremony took place in a centuries-old church, while the reception was held in what used to be the silver smelting works. Recently contracted by Nevrax to write music for their upcoming online RPG Ryzom, he won't be involved with the Dreamfall soundtrack - Morten Sørlie, who was also present at the wedding, has taken over the reins - though I'm positive we'll work together again in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, best of luck to him and his wife Benedikte!

Today's China picture, a favourite of mine, provides clear and indisputable evidence that Sauron is alive and well and a member of the Communist Party. Yes, this is a real building; a massive high-rise near the People's Square in Shanghai:

Barad-dur, Shanghai.

  ¶ 12:52 0 comments   

  I'm Switching.

Well, no, I'm not really switching switching as such. Yes, I'm buying a 12-inch Powerbook. And a 20-inch Cinema Display. And the wireless bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo. But I'm also keeping my trusty Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop (at home), and Dell-whatever-it-is at the office. The Powerbook will be for writing and travelling - while powerful, the 8600 is also very, very heavy - although the acquisition of a widescreen Cinema Display means that it'll be used for some Photoshop and Dreamweaver work as well. And some browsing. And possibly video compositing and editing, if I can get my hands on a copy of Final Cut.

So it's not really a Switch. More of a fusion between the two; the best of both worlds. The 12-inch Powerbook just happened to be the most portable - and also most attractive - option out there, and I'm tired of lugging my 95-pound (well, almost) Dell laptop everywhere. It gave me a real back ache in China.

Besides, it's just fun to go Mac for a little while. Windows has more options in terms of productivity and games, but I play fewer and fewer PC games these days, and use only a couple of programs in my daily life: Office, Photoshop, Premiere, Internet Explorer. The Mac will take care of most of my needs.

It was the iPod's fault. It lured me in, converted (or subverted) me to all things Apple. That and iTunes, which really didn't do it for me at first, but now I swear by it. And also my brand new AirPort Express, which I received only two days ago, and which I now can't live without. Being able to stream iTunes MP3s over a wi-fi network to the living room stereo is just the Greatest. Thing. Ever. Honestly, it is.

More about my Adventures in Mac Land when I get my Powerbook, which could take a while.

Now onto my Adventures in China. These two pictures were both taken in Fuxing (pronounced Foo-shing, not Fux-ing) Park on Saturday July 17th. We'd spent the day walking around the neighbourhood, and right after this we went to Renmin Square. We returned to the French Concession that evening to eat at a wonderful Thai restaurant - Simply Thai, on Dong Ping Lu - followed by a visit to our favourite bar, Zapata's (also on Dong Ping Road) with a final stop at Park 97, which happens to be located in Fuxing Park. Full circle, then.

Naked boy surfing on a dolphin...like it's the most natural thing in the world. Fuxing Park, Shanghai.

Tai Chi. Or possibly insane guy wringing neck of invisible opponent. It could go either way. (What's your bet that the sign says 'Don't walk on grass'?). Fuxing Park, July 17th 2004.

  ¶ 22:43 0 comments   

 
Hi, I've got a question about Shanghai.

Am I right if I guess that you stayed in the "Shanghai Mansions Hotel" (Formerly "Broadway Mansions Hotel") in 20 North Suzhou Road? I think that Metal Bridge on that photo is the "Garden Bridge" over the Suzhou River (tributary of Huangpu River). I was in Shaghai at about the same time. The last hotel where we stayed was the South building of the "Peace Hotel". And that photo with the fishes. Was it taken near the Yuyuan Garden? In the Old Chinesedistrict? By the way, we were in Beijing too. We also had to wait some hours at the airport when flying back to Shanghai. (We flew back to Shanghai the day before you flew to Beijing, I think)

I hope you enjoyed your stay in China!

Thanks, Jessica. No, we stayed at the Pavillion Century Court, which is pretty much right next door to the Mansions. Very nice hotel with some stunning views and good service, although the breakfast left a lot to be desired. And yes, the picture with the fishes was indeed taken near Yuyuan Garden.

Funny story about our delay at Hong Qiao airport: Whitney Huston played Shanghai the previous evening, and was on her way to do a second show in Beijing at the same time we were travelling. We bumped into her (and her very large bodyguards) at check-in; her posse came into the same restaurant as we did to grab lunch; and when we finally boarded our plane, four hours late, their entourage occupied a number of economy seats back where we were sitting, while Whitney, Bobby, and their closest compadres sat up in business. The whole thing felt very absurd: flying from Shanghai to Beijing together with a drug-addicted pop diva, her criminally abusive husband, their kids and nannies, and her crew. If we'd gone down, at least we would have been remembered.

Picture time!

"I said he went thataway, woman!"

Making brooms in Fuxing Park.

  ¶ 21:15 0 comments   

  Sega announced yesterday an online multiplayer PC version of Shenmue. This is great news for anyone who's played the first two games (and if you haven't, you should, especially if you like adventure games), and it ought to be an original and unique addition to the somewhat stagnant MMOG genre. The setting - Japan, Hong Kong, China in the mid 80s - is unlike anything else out there, and I'm guessing and hoping the online version will retain this setting.

As for how the the character-driven drama and the Virtua Fighter style combat of the offline games will translate into an online environment, we'll just have to wait and see. Interesting stuff.

Just one picture today:

That's one giant broom for mankind...or one tiny woman.

  ¶ 09:20 0 comments   

  I can't find my access card to the office. I put it in a Smart Place before I left for China, and now, obviously, that Smart Place isn't so very. I should've known better. The last time I left my car keys in a Smart Place, it took me an hour to find them. Honestly, I should stick with the Really Obvious Places, like the kitchen counter.

Watched Super Size Me tonight: it was very funny but also rather obvious. Fast food is bad for you? Eek! As entertainment, it worked; as a diatribe against the dangers of burgers and fries...well, walking out, I was really hankering for a Quarter Pounder Menu. Go figure.

Onto the pictures!

In China, there's a fine line between art and garbage. Literally.


Bicycles and drying laundry; the two mainstays of Shanghai backstreets.


The view from my bedroom window.

  ¶ 22:27 0 comments   

  Seventy-five megabytes of mail. That's what was waiting for me at work. It took a good hour to download it all to my inbox. Most of it was spam, naturally (because I get all the spam), but there's still enough genuine mail left to occupy my time in the coming days. This is why I don't like being away from the office too long.

It was great having the Dreamfall team back together today again after the holidays, and everyone appeared well rested and ready for the next five months of hard work. Deadlines loom, but things are looking good: we've begun work on a huge new location (a familiar one, but you'll definitely be able to explore it more thoroughly this time around), and we're also making progress on the combat engine. Should be loads of fun, even if you don't much like fighting. (Think Beyond Good & Evil.) And, of course, you'll be able to avoid most fisticuffs if you're a clever girl (or boy).

As for ***, my second project, new ideas have popped into my head during my Asian Tour, so work's progressing on that as well. I'm very excited about where it's going, but I can't say much more than that.

Finally, as promised, here are several more pictures from the China trip. These are all from Shanghai (it'll take me a while to get to Beijing, but stick around: it'll be worth it).

The proud flag of the homeland waves in the refreshing forty degrees Celsius, seventy-five percent humidity breeze. There are quite a few of these giant cranes in Shanghai, where in the past decade 1400 skyscrapers have been constructed. That's one new highrise every 2.6 days!


I call this one 'Girl With Umbrella, and Also Mao. And Some Buttons.' It's catchy.


Now, where's the 'on' button? In China, they ride dragons.


Feeding frenzy.

It's a fish-eat-fish world.

  ¶ 20:23 0 comments   

  Well. No time to update the blog in Beijing, unfortunately (and obviously), as our days were packed to the rafters - even more so than in Shanghai - and also the Grand Hyatt saw fit to charge quite a premium for broadband access. Which I'd be pissy about, if it weren't for the fact that the Grand Hyatt was an amazing hotel with the Best. Breakfast. Ever.

There was also this Lost in Translation moment in the hotel bar that endeared me massively to the charms of the Hyatt. While the entire scenario is impossible to describe, it involved an all-girl band playing (bad) covers using traditional Chinese instruments plus a very synthy synth - they absolutely and completely rocked the (or at least my) house.

I'll make up for my slothfulness this coming week: check back daily for pictures & witty anecdotes (well) from the journey.

Shanghai, Huangpu River; the Pudong skyline in the background.

And so the Great Chinese Adventure comes to an end, and although I would have loved to stay (much) longer, it's also good to be back home.

More tomorrow.

  ¶ 20:54 0 comments