Tia Marie

"N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!" I found Esperanto in Skyrim!

I found this interesting bit in Skyrim and it gave me a neat project to play with.  I'm sure most of you are already aware that I'm somewhat of an Esperanto-phile and I'm always on the watch for neat usages of Esperanto in popular media.

So I was just chilling at the Bard's College, looking around what what I could loot and sell when I came across a book with an unusual title: "N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!"

I don't come across many languages that have "kv" starting a word except for esperanto.  The numbers 4 and 5 are "Kvar" and "Kvin" and so I loaded up Lernu.net to see if I could come up with a translation for Kvati or Kvaki.  Sure enough, Kvaki came up with a hit. 

"SCORE!" I thought to myself as I opened up the book to get more of it's contents.  I was hoping to discover some more Esperanto in there.  

It didn't look entirely esperanto, but there were definitely some esperanto-ish things in there.  If you can't read the text from the picture here it is:

An obscure text written in the language of the Sload by a necromancer

"N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis! ahkstas so novajxletero (oix jhemile) so Ranetauw. Ricevas gxin pagintaj membrauw kaj aliaj individuauw, kiujn iamaniere tusxas so raneta aktivado. En gxi aperas informauw unuavice pri so lokauw so cxiumonataj kunvenauw, sed nature ankoix pri aliaj aktuasoj aktivecauw so societo. Ne malofte enahkstas krome plej diversaspekta materialo eduka oix distra.

So interreta Kvako (retletera kaj verjheauw) ahkstas unufsonke alternativaj kanasouw por distribui so enhavon so papera Kva! Kvak!. Sed alifsonke so enhavauw so diversaj verjheauw antoixvible ne povas kaj ecx ne vus cxiam ahksti centprocente so sama. En malvaste cirkusonta paperfolio ekzemple ebsos publikigi ilustrajxauwn, kiuj pro kopirajtaj kiasouw ne ahkstas uzebsoj en so interreto. Alifsonke so masoltaj kostauw reta distribuo forigas so spacajn limigauwn kaj permahksas pli ampleksan enhavon, por ne paroli pri gxishora aktualeco.

Tiuj cirkonstancauw rahkspeguligxos en so aspekto so Kvakoa, kiu ja cetere servos ankoix kiel gxeneraso retejo so ranetauw."

There were only a few things that didn't make sense to me, so I decided to change a few things I didn't recall ever seeing in Esperanto.  I found multiple words that looked sort of like the Esperanto verb for "to be" but there were letters that were wrong.  The words "ahkstas" and "ahksti" led me to believe these were intended to be "esti" instead and I changed all of the instances of ahk to e. 

The next thing that looked familiar was "ankoix" - I'd never seen the oix used and determined that they might be using X-notionation here instead of doing the cirumflexes.  I decided that this word must be the Esperanto word for "also or as well" - ankaŭ or with X-notation it'd be ankaux.  So I replaced every instance of "oix" with "aux" and made a couple more words make sense.

I found at least three more things that needed replacing before I finally came up with real Esperanto:

N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis! estas la novajxletero (aux simile) la Ranetoj. Ricevas gxin pagintaj membroj kaj aliaj individuoj, kiujn iamaniere tusxas la raneta aktivado. En gxi aperas informoj unuavice pri la lokoj la cxiumonataj kunvenoj, sed nature ankaux pri aliaj aktuasoj aktivecoj la societo. Ne malofte enestas krome plej diversaspekta materialo eduka aux distra.

La interreta Kvako (retletera kaj versioj) estas unuflanke alternativaj kanaloj por distribui so enhavon la papera Kva! Kvak!. Sed aliflanke la enhavoj la diversaj versioj antauxvible ne povas kaj ecx ne vus cxiam esti centprocente la sama. En malvaste cirkulanta paperfolio ekzemple eblas publikigi ilustrajxojn, kiuj pro kopirajtaj kialoj ne estas uzeblaj en la interreto. Aliflanke la malaltaj kostoj reta distribuo forigas la spacajn limigojn kaj permesas pli ampleksan enhavon, por ne paroli pri gxishora aktualeco.

Tiuj cirkonstancoj respeguligxos en la aspekto la Kvakoa, kiu ja cetere servos ankaux kiel gxenerala retejo la ranetoj.

Here is a translation

The Croak is the newsletter (or something similar) of the small frogs. It is send to paying members and other individuals who, in some way, are involved in the small frogs activities. In it there firstly is information about the locations of the monthly meetings, but of course also concerning the latest activities of the club. Sometimes it also includes other educating or entertaining material.

The internet-based Croak (e-mail and web versions) are on the one hand another distribution channel for the contents of the paper version. But on the other hand, not surprisingly, the contents of the different versions can't and even must not always be 100 percent the same. For instance, in little circulating paper versions you can publish illustrations that for copyright reasons can't be used on the internet. Yet on the other hand the low costs oft the internet version lift the space limits and allow more content, not to mention being always to date.

These circumstances influence the web-based Croak, which will also serve as the general homepage of the small frogs.

Today's E3 Roundup

It's no secret that I'm a huge gamer. I've been to several gaming expos/cons as both a consumer and press, but E3 has always been the pinnacle of game industry news and sneak peeks at the latest games and new technologies coming to the homes of gamers across the world. Today, I wanted to curate the hot topics from the various press conferences that took place today. Obviously this isn't inclusive of everything, but more of what caught my eye.

Microsoft Press Conference

At the Microsoft press conference, we got to see updates to the Xbox as well as some previews of games which will support the Kinect. In the clip below, check out the sneak peak that Joystiq gives us of the new UI for Xbox. They've done a lot to clean up the UI, but most importantly you will be able to see Bing supported search results, more streaming video and a very smooth interface for the XBLA marketplace.

Clipped from: www.joystiq.com (share this clip)

 

Clipped from: majornelson.com (share this clip)

Minecraft comes to Xbox

Mojang will be working towards finishing a complete, console-friendly version of Minecraft due this fall Holiday season, which should be around the time when the PC and Mac versions of the game finish beta mode.

From gamerant.com (share this quote)

Clipped from: gamerant.com (share this clip)

Starwars Kinect

The game features everything that you could possibly imagine from a Star Wars Kinect game, yes you can control a lightsaber and swing it around. And yes you can control the force with your hands. You have the ultimate power of a Jedi in your hands as you ride Speeder bikes and interact with Imperial Walkers in the classic Cloud City. You can control your Jedi by dodging forward, moving side to side and slashing droids to piece with your lightsaber

From www.platformnation.com (share this quote)

Clipped from: www.youtube.com (share this clip)

Games for the Little ones

While not quite making the waves like the more mature games announced and displayed at E3 this year are, you can be sure you'll be hearing about these new titles if you have young kids in your home. Developed with the 3-12 year old kid in mind, your gaming area is about to resemble a warzone of a different sort.

From news.teamxbox.com (share this quote)

Clipped from: www.capsulecomputers.com.au (share this clip)

EA Press Conference & Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3, BioWare’s forthcoming action role-playing game will complete the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy. The game was originally delayed due to a packed holiday season, which will witness the release of some blockbuster games including the likes of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Batman: Arkham City, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and more. Mass Effect 3 will take place after the events of the Mass Effect 2 downloadable content pack Arrival. The game’s protagonist Commander Shepard will embark on an adventure which sees him trying to save the galaxy from the Reapers.

From playstationlifestyle.net (share this quote)

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Star Wars: The Old Republic

Clipped from: www.cinemablend.com (share this clip)

Awesome new game releases

In addition to all of the above news, there are some really awesome games that I've been super excited to hear about, games that I'll certainly purchase as soon as they are released.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

For the E3 demo, we join Ezio as he prepares to leave the city and seek out his Templar nemesis. First he talks to the local Assassin's guild chief Yusuf and discovers that the harbour has been blockaded with ships and barricaded with a large chain drawn from the old Tower of Gelata.

From www.eurogamer.net (share this quote)

Clipped from: www.eurogamer.net (share this clip)

Rocksmith

Rocksmith will include a unique quarter-inch to USB cable, that is the first of its kind, and will allow users to plug any real guitar with a quarter-inch jack directly into their Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PC.

From rocksmith.ubi.com (share this quote)

Clipped from: rocksmith.ubi.com (share this clip)

Fable: The Journey

At Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference Peter Molyneux revealed the next game in its action role-playing series. Fable: The Journey will utilize Kinect functionality for things like controlling horses while riding in a carriage, casting spells and swiping swords in melee combat.

From xbox360.ign.com (share this quote)

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Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Skyrim will offer a wide world open to exploration, richly detailed on both a micro and macro scale. With over 150 dungeons and at least 300 hours of potential gameplay

From www.gamefront.com (share this quote)

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Bioshock Infinite

There's something more frightening in the world than a Big Daddy. BioShock Infinite introduces Songbird, a massive flying metal bird who serves as guardian to Elizabeth, the woman you've vowed to escort off the flying city of Colombia.

From ps3.ign.com (share this quote)

Clipped from: ps3.ign.com (share this clip)

Overstrike

Set in the near-future, Overstrike follows a team of four elite agents obliterating enemy strongholds using fringe-tech gadgets and lethal teamwork. The members of Overstrike 9 are comprised of an ex-mercenary, Interpol’s most wanted thief, a gifted young scientist and a decorated detective. Collectively, they are the agency’s outcasts.

From www.insomniacgames.com (share this quote)

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For More Updates

That's all I have for now, but definitely keep your eyes peeled on the clip below for more E3 updates this week:

Clipped from: e3feed.com (share this clip)

Help me rescue @JapanaRadio & @WNOHGB!

Clipped from: www.japanaradio.com (share this clip)

A dear friend of mine has a project dear to him that is in risk of going under. If any of you are Anime or Jpop music fans, I'd love for you to take a listen to Japan-a-Radio. It is an online radio station for Jpop and Anime music. Right now, Japan-a-Radio runs out of my friend's house on a T1 connection that he pays for himself with the assistance of donations and paid subscriptions to Japan-a-Radio (you can still listen to Japan-a-Radio for free still, it just has some adverts in it).

Not only am I good friends with the person who runs Japan-a-Radio but I also am a heavy user of another project of his that is run off of the same T1 line (that is also in risk). It's a Star Trek themed MOO that I've been playing for about two years now, I wrote about it here to get more players in the game.

Anyhow, this T1 line needs help and not only is it's livelihood important to my friend but it is important to me as well. If there is anything you guys can do to help out, that would be awesome. I've donated myself, but I can't give much more than I already have. However, as proof that I have put my own money up on this project I have a picture of the receipt for my donation.

How can you help? Obviously the most awesome way is by directly donating or buying a subscription to Japan-a-Radio here is the Donation page. I personally don't like asking strangers for money, so I would be just as thrilled if you could just go listen to Japan-a-Radio and spread the word. With luck, some one will appreciate the station and buy a subscription or drop a tip to Japan-a-Radio.

Please don't hesitate to contact me for any questions or you can reach out to my friend @Otaking on twitter if you have any questions about this :)

 

My latest addiction

Clipped from: wnohgb.org (share this clip)

Let me first explain that I have a different definition of fun than most people do.  I enjoy writing, I enjoy theatre and I enjoy D&D greatly.  

That being said, let me describe this game that I play. For those of us who had the internet in the early 90s, games like MUDs, MUSHes and MOOs were our MMOs.  There was a big difference for me though, creating the characters and getting to play them out. Sure that sounds pretty nerdy, probably a lot more nerdy that writing fanfic but I swear it's lots of fun. 

So, the game that I have been playing is called "Where No One Has Gone Before" and it is a Star Trek themed text based role playing game.  Whew, that was a mouthful!  I use a program called Atlantis to log in with my Mac (you can use Telnet if you're really a sadist or SimpleMu if you're on windows).  

I've been playing at that game for almost a year and a half now and it's been the greatest time killer anywhere.  I recruited one friend and she has gotten addicted.  Now, if you haven't gotten an idea at all of what happens in a text based role playing game, then let me give you an example.  Check at the roleplay logs from the game.  That is the game and what happens every day in multiple places.  

I think that the Staff there are great, they have been very welcoming and helpful and I also have gotten friends with one of the guy who made it happen.  He's a really awesome person, he's @Otaking over on twitter.  He's certainly made my transition into the game and really made things great.

I can't say more than awesome things about it, it's a great deal of fun and the events that happen run by the Administration is very fun, witty and very involved.  I know that it might not seem your type of game, you might need some pictures or even some buttons to click but text really grows on a person. 

Clipped from: wiki.wnohgb.org (share this clip)

I encourage you to to go check out the wiki, I wrote a lot of the stuff on the Romulans.  You can find out about the timeline and some of the commands that you'll need to learn to play the game and get a feel for the characters that exist in game, read their stories and perhaps if you like it you'll join me.  If you figure out how to connect and want to make a character give me a shout out, my character's name is Ael'Ihhuein.  

Loving your geeky beau

I asked earlier today on Twitter, "You've got a geeky male love interest, how would you sweeten his day?" I was surprised by the responses, not the suggestions but more of the people who reached out to me privately saying, "Let me know what people say, I'm curious!" With stories of their geeky beau they want to make happy.

Without getting into the multitudes of types of geeky men, I can break this down in one answer: Show interest and curiosity in what he does. 

If you're beau is a programmer, you don't need to know how cache invalidation works, Big O notation or the finer points of functional programming, you just need to listen.  You're not going to understand everything, but I promise if you take a moment to ask him about his work he'll tell you.  If you have a programmer love interest, try asking them if they've "solved any cool problems this week," in regards to their job.  Chances are, you'll have them asking you if you seriously care (and do show interest) and then going on to tell you what they did. Perhaps they work at a webby startup and has been fighting some bug all week and after finally vanquishing it, discovered that they were able to speed up request times on the site they work for by a couple of milliseconds.  

It's not hard to talk to a programmer, even if you don't think you're not smart enough to hold a conversation with them.  I've only had good experiences talking with programmers, most of the ones I know are very opinionated and passionate about their specialties. Communication isn't a one way thing.  
I've known many a geeky male to be more than happy to sit back and let me talk about myself, my interests and my work.  That's not a conversation though, don't let them get away with being listeners.  You also don't have to pretend to understand what they are talking about to get them to converse and potentially respect you.  

Which brings me to my next point, there is no shame in telling some one "I don't know." Repeat that phrase, learn it and embrace it.  You'll gain far more appreciation and respect if you own up to things you don't know and seem willing to learn.  Learning doesn't mean being a master of something, it just means knowing more about a subject than you knew five minutes prior.

The above suggestions can go for whatever genre of geekery your interest is into, be it video games, physics, medicine, programming or math (and all the other genres of geekery).  It really doesn't matter, just show interest.  Nine times out of ten, you'll not only get an explanation of what your interest did at work, but they will also try their best to explain what it means to you in laymen terms so that you can better follow the conversation.

I'm sure you probably were thinking I'd have a list of things you could buy your geek instead of something as simple as "listen." So, I've put together a list of nice things that I know some geeks appreciate:

• Composition Book - This is half line paper and half graph paper, if you have yourself a programmer or an electronics aficionado this composition book is great for mathematical proofs and circuit diagrams with notation.
• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War -  Check to see if they don't own this already!  Not only is this book a great read, it's about zombies too!
• IM Me Device - If it's a hardware hacker you've got on your hands, this little device is a really great way to have a hackable radio on the cheap. 
• Cling-on whiteboard sheets - Whiteboards are the vitae of many a geek's life.  These are static cling on whiteboard sheets that one can plop up on their wall for some giant sized whiteboard awesomeness.
• Dr. Who USB Hub - There is never enough USB ports for all of your devices, why not let him celebrate it with geekery.
• Battlestar Galactica, the boardgame - YES It exists, surprise your geek with it and enjoy this "semi-cooperative" game with them.
• Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers - Chances are, if they are a boardgame geek they already have the original Carcassonne.  Do they have this version yet?  Also, why aren't you playing Carcassonne with your boardgame geek yet?
• Cowboy Bebop CD Box Set - I've yet to meet an anime geek who didn't absolutely love the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack and cheaper than the entire DVD set.
• The Black Mages: Final Fantasy - If you have a gamer geek on your hands, they might appreciate this collection of final fantasy music. 

If you have any suggestions or additions leave me a comment or tweet me to: @tia_marie

The Birth of a Gamer

Clipped from: en.wikipedia.org (share this clip)

 

I wish to share a very personal story with all of you.  This is the story of how I became a gamer and I write it because I want you my friends to know how gaming came to be with me.

The year was 1987, I was a young child of five and we didn't have a great deal of money.  I don't know how my mother convinced my father to buy a Nintendo in the first place, but she did.

Her favourite game was "The Legend of Zelda." The first installment in Miyamoto's dynasty of the Zelda universe.  My mother was in love with the game.  Despite being so young, I can clearly recall the time my mom spent at the NES.  She had her pencil and graph paper out, carefully marking every hidden item in the game.  Each and every bush, rock, wall or secret place in the game that you could burn, bomb, push or play a recorder at, that woman had it marked (on the 1st and 2nd quest). Then she helped me through it. It was another one of our reading bonding exercises.  She'd help me read the clues and the speech boxes and give me gentle nudges in the directions of the clues. I fell in love with gaming.  It was even better since my mother had such a direct impact in my life as a gamer.

Clipped from: en.wikipedia.org (share this clip)

 

My last memory of my mother was the night before she died. I was sixteen years old, it was a Sunday night over the summer.  We were playing the original Diablo over battlenet.  I had introduced her to "hacked" characters and showing her that you could PlayerKill with these. She was laughing herself in tears telling me how horrible I was as she controlled the mouse to kill unsuspecting players as I trolled them over chat.  I'd never seen my mother laugh so hard. Nor had I remembered having so much fun playing a video game before in my life.

 

I'm all grown up now and I'll never forget where I got my start as a gamer.  My mother's influence in my gaming origins will never be forgotten.  Legend of Zelda had such an impact on my life and my memories of my mother that I had forever etched the tribute of the game that first tied me to gaming on my right forearm.

Clipped from: www.tia-marie.com (share this clip)

In closing, I had the most awesome mom ever. <3

Gaming for Charity take two!

  It's very early to announce this, but I wanted to get this up.  As you remember from last year, I participated in Sarcastic Gamer's Extra Life charity. It's a 24 hour gaming marathon to raise money for children's cancer research.  I want to thank last year's sponsors heavily and everyone who supported me last year during the 24-hour run through!

 I had an absolute blast last year and while I was working at Justin.tv I helped promote the gamers who took part in the charity marathon and participated with them.  Together we raised nearly $20,000 for Extra Life.

I wanted to take a moment to highlight two of my favourite moments from last year.  I broadcasted the entire event and these two video clips come from hour 23, when I was totally starting to lose steam and getting very sleepy and everything devolved into "That's what she said" jokes and sex humour.

This year I'll be doing it again and you can help me!  I'll be joining up with team WNOHGB with my good friend @otaking to try to raise money for the Children's Hospital & Research Center of Oakland, CA.  I have a personal goal of $1,000 this year, but I know that with your help, we can do this together!  I'm also dedicating my participation in this year's event to my friend Drew Olanoff who has been kicking Cancer's Ass and has gotten thousands to #blamecancer in the hopes to raise awareness and funding to cancer research. I've always adored Drew and he's been an inspiration to me both as a Community Manager and a person. 

Now, the question remains. How can you help? Below is a clip of my donation page, you can choose to sponsor me as I play for 24 hours straight on October 16th 2010, spread the word to your friends or sign up with me!  Join me and team WNOHGB and help raise money for cancer research!  Together we can help kick cancer's ass! If you have any questions don't hesitate to shoot me an email or contact me on twitter: @tia_marie, I'll be happy to answer your questions!

Clipped from: https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/m.aspxi176117A819CE77DDA by clp.ly

 

Review: Chaos Rings

Clipped from: itunes.apple.com by clp.ly

You don't typically see a lot of iPhone reviews here on SFX-360, but when I saw that there was a Square Enix game on the app store with the largest price tag I've seen on a game, I knew I had to pull it apart! Chaos Rings, which is presently in the iTunes App store for the beefy price of $12.99. Holy-shit-thats-expensive! 

Why would anyone pay such a hefty price of a stupid iPhone game?  Well let me tell you it this way.  This game is what we have all be wanting from a turn based RPG in such a long time.  Square Enix teased us with Final Fantasy XIII.  They gave us the Active Time Battles back and the elements of the turn based RPG... but it was just lacking.  

It's not fair to compare Chaos Rings for iPhone to a epic multi-disc game like Final Fantasy XIII released for the console.  However, I will say that it was highly comparable to a Final Fantasy game released for the PS2. First, let's delve into the story before we start talking about the nuances of the actual game play.

The story revolves around a tournament where combatants fight for their lives: the Ark Arena. Upon choosing a pair of characters, one male and one female, you will then have to fight against the other pairs. Each pair has their own story, and the truth behind the Ark Arena will not be revealed until each story is completed.

From itunes.apple.com via clp.ly

  The game starts out allowing you to pick between to pairs of characters: Eluca and Zhamo or Escher and Musiea.  There are other pairs that you can play as once you unlock them: Garrick and Alto, Olgar and Vahti and Ayuta and Mana.  The characters were designed by none other than Yusuke Naora, the art director for popular Final Fantasy titles such as: Final Fantasy VII, VIII and X.  

It doesn't have a Final Fantasy tag to it, but I honestly believe that this game should be a Final Fantasy title.  It is simply beautiful, music and storyline.  

It's completely turn based and you have the option of fighting as a pair or individually.  Through your battles you are able to collect "genes" of various types of creatures that you have defeated and you can equip their genes and as you fight more of that type you unlock skills specific to that creature type.

There are some quirks about the game that make it a bit too easy.  After every battle your HP is fully healed up and for the most part, I found that if you simply used the "pair" option for battle every time you smash through people. The boss fights though, can be a bit tricky.  All in all, the graphics and music were incredible for the iPhone, the controls didn't suck!  Seriously, this surprised me the most. The turn-based battles were certainly a gift from the JRPG elder gods and I found myself not angry that I spent so much on an iPhone game.

Seriously, if you are a lover of the old PS2 era Final Fantasy games, buy this game for your iPhone or iPod touch.  You won't regret it and you'll be happy you took my advice.  Now, look below at all the lovely screen shots I took from the game play.  

If you've played this game, let me know what you think! Shoot me a message on twitter: @tia_marie