Tag Archives: Photography

video game reviews

GDC Recap: Viewfinder

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To conclude my coverage of GDC, I want to talk about the nifty puzzler, Viewfinder. Viewfinder is a first-person puzzle game where players can reshape the world by placing printed media like photos or drawings into the world. It is a cool concept that is masterfully implemented around an interesting story. If you like puzzle games like Portal, you need to get Viewfinder. 

The biggest draw to Viewfinder is the freedom of creativity that this game allows for. There are many ways to solve puzzles, and players are only limited by their imagination. I spent way too long reshaping the world because it was fun and not because I was solving the puzzles. This game has the potential to be a huge time sink if you like to mess around with map editors. It is unbelievably cool to watch how you reshape the world with different art styles. By the end of a puzzle, you will have this insanely beautiful fusion of art that you created.

I was blown away by the amount of work that went into making this game work so well. Everything in this game works smoothly. I tried to break this game, but the physics was just too good. You can make it rain sideways or make objects fall from the sky with no visible latency. I will be the first to say that Viewfinder has an unlimited potential for shenanigans and that alone should be enough to make you wishlist. 

I spent too much of my session admiring Viewfinder’s novel experience. Everything in this game from the art to its innovative gameplay is perfect for people who want to pick up a game to have fun.

Viewfinder is coming to the PlayStation and PC sometime this year, but no date has been set yet. Until then, do yourself a favor and wishlist it on Steam!

1 / 9

I want to thank the game’s writer for sitting down with me and answering all my questions. The game is great, the story is solid, and I can’t wait to play it!

I also want to thank you, guys, for your continued support. I was only able to go to this event because of you. I got to meet some cool people, make important connections, and play some cool games. I never thought people cared about what I had to say, and never dreamed I would have such a wonderful opportunity. I am overjoyed that there are people that enjoy my writing, and I will strive to keep doing better. Thank you so much. I love you all!

****Images are from press kit, gifs are from the steam store. I don’t own them.

Photography, Poems

Bridge Over Water

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Shot with an iPhone 12

There is a river that sloshes against the man made bank. There are waves that crash against the pillars. There is a family of ducks that has learned to call this place home. I’ve seen them and watched them grow.

There are lines here that were meticulously crafted. That were designed and left behind and now they sit here overlooked and abandoned. How can something so important be lost and disregarded?

I hear the sounds of the car engine as it passes over me. I hear the echoes of the wheels going over pavement bouncing off the walls. I watch as it disappears down the street and I wonder if they thought of me too.

I listen as the waves crash on the man made bank, as the waves crash against the pillars. I feel the cool morning breeze against my face and watch as the sunrises over the city scape. I wonder if I can call this home yet?

Photography, Poems

The Clouds Roll in at Midnight

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And as I watch the clouds roll in, I’m hopeful for the rain. I’m hopeful for the change they will bring and the new day ahead.

It is easy to get hung up on the small inconveniences life brings. Like rain or having a bad day. It’s even easier to waste time trying to control every aspect of life seeking perfection, but life isn’t perfect. Life is as unpredictable as a Summer storm and the truest test of character is having the ability to roll with fates unpredictable flow. Adapting and persevering is part of the human experience.

Be hopeful and keep moving forward.

Shot with an iPhone 12

Photography, Poems

Grass in the Wind

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A single blade of grass.

Watch as it flows with the morning breeze. Watch as it is wisked away by outside forces. It’s future is predetermined. Its expiration date has been set and yet it still stands tall, uncaring or unconcerned.

 Today it waits for the sunrise. It enjoys it’s majesty. Tomorrow it could ffall and disappear under an emerald current. Or be carried away to make a home for a bird. Gone, leaving in it’s place an empty seat for all who remember it.

Soon a new blade of grass will come to replace it. One with new memories, ideas and dreams. And although it might share the same fate, this one will be different. But this one will stand proudly too.

Shot with a Nikon D90

Photography, Poems

Morning Routine

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Shot with an iPhone 12

When I was younger I used to rise before the sun. I would hear the ringing of the alarm clock in the other room and listen to the shuffling that followed as the house filled with the sent of instant coffee. I would pretend to sleep as my mother would come and gently raise me from feigned slumber. It was time for work.

I remember as we drove through cold streets lit with sickly yellow light from old lampposts. I watched as my mother wiped the sleep from her eyes as the radio played the local Spanish station.

I liked to watch the houses. I watched as the army of those who woke before the sun sit in their cars. Watched as the smoke of the exhaust floated up and mixed with the morning mist. I wondered if they also had a sleeping child in the back seat.

I remember pretending to fall asleep as we turned the corner to my grandmothers house. I liked when my mother would carry me in. I used to watch as her headlights disappear as I drank hot chocolate that was always waiting for me as the kitchen filled with the scent of handmade tortillas.

That was years ago. Today I still rise before the sun does. But today I sip on black coffee as I watch the sunrise reminiscing on the good times had.

Photography

Architecture in Negative Space

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It is through the perfection of life that we see beauty. I find that it is in the mistakes of the world where true beauty lies. There is an obsession with the standardization of beauty. Rules and guidelines that define a very limited definition of beauty. And when we expect life to be a certain way and follow certain structures we tend to miss the basic elements that make life beautiful. The blemishes of life is what makes the human experience unique. We must learn to celebrate these imperfections and embrace an unorthodox and unregulated definition of what it means to be beautiful.

Shot with a Nikon D90

Photography, Poems

Morning Lakewater

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The world is still at 6 am. The water crashes on the bank and the light breeze brushes up against the flowers as they open up, ready for a new day.

The sun reaches over the horizon. It kisses the clouds first. Corresses with a warm and loving touch and colors them pink and orange and red. The sun streches over the clouds and fills the sky with purple and red and orange.

The birds come out, they scavenge for food and sing to sun and thank her for the new day.

The sun reaches down to gently touch the water, the earth, and those crazy enough to wake before the sun does. And as the day warms, as the streets fill with people and cars and skys with birds and planes, remeber that the joy of life comes from apprciating the little things.

Shot with a Nikon D90