lensblog

When I was living in Cape Town, I used to dream of flying up to Johannesburg for the weekend when rAge was on, spending a day with my friends who live in the region, then going home armed with the latest and greatest that could be found at such expo’s and fairs. Then, when I finally moved here and got to experience the event for myself, I must admit that I was left with a feeling of disappointment… though to be honest, if asked, I would not be able to pin it down to any one ‘thing’. But, nevertheless, it was an opportunity to see what the gaming community had to offer and spend some time with like-minded friends.

Anyway, when I saw the signage go up for this years expo, I debated not going, as I have done once before since moving here, but the lovely mascot Roxy worked her 2D charms of my geeky soul and I settled for going on the last day, reasoning that it would be less crowded than the Friday and Saturday which cater largely for the LAN events.

I met up with @Rozze2 for breakfast, wandering around Northgate mall for a bit until the doors at rAge opened to the surprisingly long queue of people that were standing out in the sun, waiting to be let in.

As with most of these types of expo’s, rAge is an assault on the senses. Large screens playing footage from the latest games vie for your attention while the noise becomes a cacophony of bangs, whirs, screeches, gunfire, roars and background music, over which announcers try to make themselves heard.

The visitors mill around, wandering from stand to stand, looking for specials and handouts, signing up for competition after competition, collecting pamphlets at random from the assortment of kiosk girls that run around trying to get your attention. Sadly, most of them are subjected to wearing somewhat demeaning outfits in the hope that the average geek will let hormones temporarily override his sense of judgement and buy hardware or games from this stand as opposed to the one next door. I’d thought to photograph some of them for you to see, but then I realised that they were probably tired of being harassed by geeks with cameras… so sanity and courtesy prevailed. Others, sadly, were not as considerate, from what I could see.

Speaking of outfits… I didn’t see much in the way of the usual suspects doing their cos-play routines. Maybe it was too early in the day or maybe they did it on Saturday, but those that I did see were… well… uninspired.

The stand that stood out the most for me was the XBOX Kinect stand. Not only was there a constant buzz of activity around the demo stations, with people trying the new technology out for themselves, but it had by far, the most flair. Sure, there were other stands out there with bigger screens and louder music, but it didn’t matter. People were drawn to this stand, to laugh at and with the players as they mimed the actions needed to play the dancing or sport games.

Some other stands of interest were the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Dragon Age 2 stands, though the latter suffered from being situated next to the EA Sport arena where the announcer regularly drowned the demonstrator out with their PA system.

The remaining highlight of the day was meeting one of my favourite artists, Warren Louw, creator of the aforementioned Roxy and many other favourite characters (such as the AWX mascot, Eri).

I’ve been following his work for some time, at first via drooling over the limited edition prints being sold through AWX and the mascot banners in the store (which I practically begged them to allow me to buy one) and then later via DeviantArt once I knew who to look for.

I decided to buy a signed copy of one of my favourite pictures of his, Gia (What can I say… I have a thing for girls wearing big headphones… hence my fascination with the works of artists like Stanley Lau and Range Murata). Now to go find a suitable frame…

Sitting next door was another familiar face in the form of Paul Loubser aka weaponlogic, who used to work at AWX’s Brightwater Commons’ branch and would often suggest new comics and graphic novels for me to read.

I remember him showing me some of his work a while back and I am glad to see that he’s taken it further. You can look him up on DeviantArt as well.

He is available for freelance commissions so if you’re in the need for some custom illustration, please consider helping this bright young talent grow.

In fact, that whole little section, in many ways, was the main stopover for our little tour of the place.

As small and as crowded as it was, it was more welcoming and friendly than all the other stands put together. They could have held their own little expo or comic-con and I would have been just as happy to attend and support them…

I know some folks look at the animation/drawing style and see nothing more than ‘comics’… But I see it as talent…

Maybe it’s a leftover of me helping start the dev-meets (DeviantArt regional gatherings) in Cape Town, where I met and worked with a variety of talented individuals, but I can no longer sit back and dismiss something as being non-artistic. 

No matter the medium, no matter the viewers perspective, something that someone pours their heart and soul into, as one does when we create something new, becomes an artwork, even if only in the eyes of it’s creator.

I bought a limited edition comic (Gun Gear) done by South African comic artist, Vengi (hat-guy pictured centre left) and his dynamic sales team whom I have since dubbed Team Awesome because of their enthusiastic sales pitch and obvious passion for the man’s work.

Looking forward to see where he takes the story and watching his drawing style evolve. His characters remind me of a mix of Sluggy Freelance, 2000AD and Warhammer 40K, thrown into a blender and set to HIGH!

Apparently there will be a web-comic version in the near future. Way to go, buddy… good on you for embracing technology as part of your plan to show the world your work. Samples of his other work and collaborations can be found at http://meggido.co.za/

Lastly, there was artist Stephen Cloete, whose chosen medium is clay. He makes custom figures and even offers classes to those wanting to try their hand at making their own.

You can look him up at http://thecloeteinspiration.com/. He works in 2D, 3D and in clay and is working on a comic book featuring his own creations.

Not much else to write about, to be honest. I left the show around 12 o’clock and headed home before the real heat of the day set in. I have a feeling that this summer is going to be a scorcher.

Now, time to go through all the pamphlets, business cards and brochures and sort the wheat from chaff to see what is worth following up or not.

For all my intentions of aspiring to be one of the digerati or at the very least an active netizen, I don’t seem to be doing all that well with regards to standing up on my little lensbox soapbox and ramming my opinions down people’s collective throats the way some seem intent on doing.

I don’t have anything news-worthy or shocking to write about. I don’t subscribe to extremist views or expound on the virtues of fellow netizens I hope to garner some small measure of favour with. Perhaps it is a character flaw. I am a pacifist at the end of the day, tending more towards neutrality than any measurable polarities.

As I have often said in the past and maintain now and into the future, I am simply ME. No pretences. No hiding behind online personas. Take me as I am or leave me be. I make mistakes like everyone else, including you, even if you don’t want to admit it.

It’s as simple or as complicated as that, depending on your point of view and I am at peace with your choice, no matter what it may end up being.

Moving on…

As is common in the history of my online existence, I have been through one of my many quiet phases; lost in concentration, usually over one thing or another. Sometimes it is work (or at the very least, due to the nature of my vocation, the mental fatigue that follows a day in the office). Sometimes it’s a game – both the XBOX 360 and World of Warcraft draw me away from this plane of existence on a semi-regular basis. Sometimes I just have nothing to add while I traverse the ‘inner universe’ we’ve created online – I would far rather absorb information in silent contemplation than spew forth misinformation while jumping up and down and drawing attention to myself.

Silence, more often than not, is golden. Barring that, duct tape is silver, a handy adhesive I often wish I could liberally apply to the hands and mouths, digital or physical, of those I encounter online.

I refer, of course, the the oft-spotted, much-reviled online troll. Frequently found in it’s preferred feeding/hunting grounds, the bulletin boards, forums and comment sections of just about every public site that allows user feedback and interaction.

I had a fair amount of spare time while working late shifts the last few months and I spent some time lurking in one of the local bulletin boards, MyBroadband.

If I had to paint a picture of “MyBB”, I think I could quite easily get away with Mos Eisley, the spaceport town on the planet Tatooine in the fictional Star Wars universe.

Obi-Wan, in his wisdom, described it as follows: “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy”.

In the interest of fairness, I suppose not all of MyBB fits that description. Just most of it. The worst part, though, has to be the dreaded PD section, “Philosophical debates”.

Do not enter here without either a strong constitution, thick skin or having your wits about you.

Here, you will face derision and mockery at every turn. Your faith, no matter what it is, will be questioned and torn apart, to be scrutinized by those with little regard for hurt feelings or one’s beliefs and passions. You can try and argue. You can supply evidence. You can write impassioned words and essays that would make holy men proud. But you will not succeed… the hunting pack will gather and surround you and eventually descend upon you in an ugly barrage of posts and retorts that speaks volumes about the cynicism in Man’s soul that has found fertile ground in which to grow and spread in the online metaverse.

Now and again you might find a glimmer of light, a lone wolf that seems to be fending off the pack, only to find that in order to survive the onslaught, this individual has almost become like them in his uncaring brutality and zeal. The wan light flickers and fades…

Coming up for air from that dark place, you might think to wonder into the Gaming sections, only to find similar situations, often written and perpetuated by the same individuals. Glancing over at the Technical forums, you are assaulted by the whining of those more intent on spreading their own miserable opinions that helping work towards a solution. New threads start only to be found by these sad souls who soon drown any hope of extracting useful information from the thread with their complaints, opinions and rants.

And yet I cannot seem to stay away…

Like watching a train wreck in slow motion, I find myself fascinated while simultaneously despairing for what could have been an amazing community of shared knowledge supplied  by some obviously great minds.

Will we ever have an online Utopia?

If the online metaverse is a mirror of our physical reality, I somehow doubt it.

I leave you, for now, with the following (apt) image…