EVE Online

Eve Online is a video game by CCP Games. It is a player-driven persistent-world massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in a science fiction space setting. Players pilot customizable ships through a universe comprising over 7300 star systems. Most star systems are connected to one or more other star systems by means of jump gates. The star systems can contain several phenomena including but not limited to: moons, planets, stations, wormholes, asteroid belts and complexes.

Players of Eve Online are able to participate in any number of in-game professions and activities, including mining, manufacturing, trade, exploration, and combat (both player versus environment and player versus player). The range of activities available to the player is facilitated by a character advancement system based upon training skills in real time, even while not logged into the game.

Taking place 20,000 years in the future, the fictional background story of Eve Online explains that long ago humankind, having used up most of Earth's resources, began colonizing the rest of the Milky Way. Eventually, humans expanded to most of the galaxy. Resources became contested and war broke out. When a natural wormhole was discovered, dozens of colonies were seeded at its other end, in an unexplored galaxy dubbed 'New Eden'. An artificial wormhole generator was built to support the collapsing wormhole. When the natural wormhole collapsed, however, it destroyed the generator with it. Cut off from Earth and its much-needed supplies, New Eden's colonists starved in the millions. Five known colonies managed to return to prominence, eventually rebuilding society together. These colonies make up the five major empires in Eve: the Amarr Empire, the Gallente Federation, the Minmatar Republic, the Caldari State and the Jove Empire.

The reason I chose to review EVE is because the game is in my opinion one of the most complex games I have ever played. Another factor is that EVE simulates many real world scenarios such as the player corporations which mimic real world trade, communication and competition.

The in-game economy in Eve Online is an open economy that is largely player-driven. While non-player character merchants supply some basic items, players can gather the necessary raw materials to manufacture almost all of the ships and ship modules in the game. The amount of money or materials in the universe is not fixed and, as such, the economy operates under supply and demand.

Players can organize themselves into corporations. Corporations are run by one chief executive officer (CEO) who controls the corporation's assets. The CEO assigns roles to corporation members such as director, accountant and personnel manager. Corporations may also band together to form alliances.

Corporations take up numerous business models such as mining, manufacturing or "ratting" (hunting NPC pirates for their bounties and loot). Corporations can levy income taxes on their members, which skim off a percentage of every member's earnings. Many corporations offer a variety of benefits to their members, such as free or discounted ships, equipment, formal training, and organized corporate group operations.

Among the many activities that corporations can organize is piracy. Pirates may camp stargates waiting for other players to arrive, attack players operating in asteroid belts or hunt for players carrying out an NPC agent-assigned mission.

Illegally attacking another player in secure space will result in a loss of security standing; CONCORD, the interstellar NPC police, will arrive shortly to destroy the aggressor's ship. There are, however, legal ways to attack other players in high-security space.

Whole corporations and whole alliances can officially declare war on (or "war-dec") other corporations or alliances for a weekly fee, permitting all members of the involved corporations or alliances to attack each other without loss of security status or the intervention of CONCORD. The weekly fee can be eliminated if the war declaration is reciprocated. War declarations will clearly flag a player's enemies, so the player can determine who can legally attack and be attacked.

Piracy is part of the game, as is protection racketeering theft, and ransom. One infamous example is a corporate infiltration and heist where one corporation infiltrated a target corporation over the course of nearly a year. They then performed a virtual assassination on the target's CEO and proceeded to steal billions of ISK worth of corporate property to which they had gained access. Events of this nature are debated both inside the game world and in the media.

In 2009, a player alliance known as Goonswarm was contacted by a disgruntled director of rival alliance Band of Brothers, the largest alliance in the game at that time. The disgruntled director then stripped Band of Brothers of a large quantity of assets including ships, money and territory, and disbanded the alliance.

Such dangers are an inherent part of Eve Online's virtual economy and thus are purposely not dealt with by the developers. Players are expected to make financial decisions based (among other factors) on the possibility of other players' financial malpractice, much as in real-life economics.

EVE is different to other video games in the fact that it is able to draw such a large gathering of people without pretending to be something that it is not. There is no goal or ultimate task in EVE. It is entirely up to the player how far they want to take their experience. One of the more prominent aspects in EVE is the quality of player. I have played with many people, even people from the BCT class, we are great friends and this what EVE is all about. It is an extremely complex game, but it can also be as enjoyable and relaxing as what you want it to be.

Fractus

In mathematics, a self-similar object is exactly or approximately similar to a part of itself (i.e. the whole has the same shape as one or more of the parts). Many objects in the real world, such as coastlines, are statistically self-similar: parts of them show the same statistical properties at many scales. Self-similarity is a typical property of fractals.

Fractals have always intrigued me since I learned of their existence. I feel this would be hard to explain as I have always known about them. So even as a child I would have experienced the beauty of fractal self-similarity. I feel that this is perhaps how we identify individuality in objects as humans. I perceive fractal symmetry as being one of the most important elements that can be observed in our world.

Self-similarity has important consequences for the design of computer networks, as typical network traffic has self-similar properties. For example, in teletraffic engineering, packet switched data traffic patterns seem to be statistically self-similar. Fractals are an important part of our physical world as well as mathematical and abstract forms. Many parts of our own bodies are fractal in nature, just think of the form of the DNA double helix structure within the nucleus of our own cells.

A fractal is generally "a rough or fragmented geometric-shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole. The roots of fractals within mathematics be traced back to the late 19th Century, the term however was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured." A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion.

Fractals appear similar at all levels of magnification, fractals are often considered to be infinitely complex (in informal terms). Natural objects that approximate fractals to a degree include clouds, mountain ranges, lightning bolts, coastlines, snow flakes, even various vegetables (cauliflower and broccoli). However, not all self-similar objects are fractals—for example, the real line (a straight Euclidean line) is formally self-similar but fails to have other fractal characteristics; for instance, it is regular enough to be described in Euclidean terms.

Trees and ferns are fractal in nature and can be modeled on a computer by using a recursive algorithm This recursive nature is obvious in these examples—a branch from a tree or a fond from a fern is a miniature replica of the whole: not identical, but similar in nature. The connection between fractals and leaves are currently being used to determine how much carbon is contained in trees. This connection is hoped to help determine and solve the environmental issue of carbon emission and control.

Fractals have the ability to capture your imagination and keep you transfixed more so than other forms of art. Fractals have allowed us to view mathematical algorithms and complex occurrences in nature from a different perspective. I chose to review the subject because fractals have a great influence in the natural world. They are one of my favourite art forms, the fact that fractals can be seen in nature, mathematics, and art makes them very unique.

A short video that displays graphic fractals and audio that relies on self-similarity

Týr

Týr is a Viking Metal band from the Faroe Islands. Its music can be described as a blend of viking, folk and significant progressive structures. The band incorporate many folk elements and melodies in their songs, spiced up by the musical inclusion of the island’s native folk structure. Their songs include many rhythm changes and complex time signatures. I have chosen to review Týr because I have a great interest in music. Týr has been one of my first experiences in this genre (Viking metal). I also have a great interest in Norse Mythology and Scandinavian history and culture. I shall discuss both the band and historical aspects surrounding Týr.

Týr is the god of one on one combat (the duel), victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man. In the late Icelandic Eddas, he is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda), while the origins of his name and his possible relationship to Tuisto suggest he was once considered the father of the gods and head of the pantheon. Tuesday is in fact "Tyr's Day." This is because the Anglo-Saxons at that time pronounced Tyr's name as "Tiw" thus giving his name to the 2nd day of the week.

Viking metal is a term referred to metal bands with dramatic emphasis on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. It is closely related with terms of pagan metal and epic black metal. Viking metal bands are usually sort of black metal and/or folk metal sound, characterised by galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound and bleakness.

The project began in January 1998. Heri Joensen met his old bandmate, Kári Streymoy, at a party in Copenhagen, Denmark. Joensen suggested to Streymoy that they should meet up and jam. Streymoy initially declined, but later took him up on his offer. They were soon joined by another former bandmate, bassplayer Gunnar H. Thomsen, making the duo a trio. Singer Pól Arni Holm and guitarist Jón Joensen (Heri Joensen’s brother) were part of the band while they recorded How Far to Asgaard but left soon after its release.

Terji Skibenæs joined after Jón Joensen had left the band. Allan Streymoy (Kári Streymoy’s brother) took over singing duties for a brief time during which they released the single “Ólavur Riddararós”. After Allan left Heri Joensen took over the vocals. It was this line up which recorded Eric the Red. Skibenæs left the band for a while after the release of Eric the Red. The band played as a trio for some time.

I enjoy listening to Týr, their music is genuine and original. They have a created a sound that is truly distinctive, they fill their music with emotion, which is hard to achieve. I believe music is completely subjective; one forms their own opinions regarding such material. Týr brings out strong feelings that other groups or genres are unable to. I believe the islands native folk structure is what gives this band true depth and a sense of purpose.  They aren’t pretending to be something they are not, they are sticking to their ‘roots’, I have a great deal of respect for that.  In fact they are even reinforcing their traditions and paying tribute to the past.

Týr's "musical mission is to break down the walls that are erected between all the kinds of metal that have arisen over the years. Power-, doom-, black-, progressive-, gothic-, Viking-, folk-, ethnic- and epic metal. Walls and labels do nothing but fill people with prejudice.

Portal (video game)

I have chosen to review the highly renowned video game –Portal. I have done so because Portal is a very unique and original (Portal has been acclaimed as one of the most original games in 2007 despite being comparatively short in length.) Although there have be countless reviews and discussions regarding Portal, I will only be discussing my experiences and opinions.

There are I believe in essence several key factors that make this game such a success. Valve has put immense amounts of time and research into this game in order to achieve these qualities. The story is obvious the most important as everything else revolves around that and the game dynamics.

Portal is a single-player first-person action/puzzle video game developed by Valve Corporation. The game consists primarily of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player's character and other simple objects using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (dubbed the "Portal Gun" or "ASHPD"), the portal gun can create an inter-spatial portal between flat planes. The player character is challenged by an AI named "GLaDOS" to complete each puzzle in the "Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center" using the Portal Gun with the promise of receiving cake when all the puzzles are completed. The unusual physics allowed by the portal gun are the emphasis of this game.

The game features two characters: the silent player-controlled protagonist named Chell, and GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), a computer artificial intelligence that monitors and directs the player. In the English version GLaDOS is voiced by Ellen McLain. The only background information presented about Chell is given by GLaDOS; the credibility of these facts, such as Chell being adopted and having no friends, is dubious as GLaDOS is a liar by her own admission.

The things that makes Portal such a great game in my opinion are; The storyline, the great voice acting, incredibly complex coding, the humor and aesthetic feel and mood of the game as it progresses. The song (Still Alive) that GLaDOS sings at the end of the end was a good reward. The replayability of the game is priceless.

Unternehmen Walküre

Valkyrie is a 2008 historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. I have chosen to review this film due to my interest in history and the history surrounding World War II in particular. I feel that Valkyrie is a very intense and emotional thriller which is able to capture and shape the audience’s emotions according to how the director had planned. This makes Valkyrie successful because it allows the audience to feel as though they are a part of that time period, even for but a brief moment.

Valkyrie was directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who is one of the key plotters. Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terrence Stamp and Tom Wilkinson are also among the group of key plotters.  Cruise’s casting had caused controversy among German politicians and members of von Stauffenberg’s family because of the actor’s practice of scientology, which is considered a totalitarian organization in the country. However German newspapers and filmmakers supported the film in order to spread awareness of von Stauffenberg’s plot. Parts of the film were shot in Berlin’s historic Bendlerblock.

Valkyrie is special for another reason; it is based on real history. Real people, real Germans sacrificed their lives in order to try and stop Hitler’s regime.  I feel it is very important that the people of Germany have been given such an opportunity to show the world that not every German stood behind Adolf Hitler during those times, and that many Germans did not want him to lead their country towards complete destruction.  

However I do feel that there are certain elements lacking in this film that could have been different. I feel that the actors chosen to play the roles of the German soldiers should have been played by Germans and not English speaking actors from America. The film should have been entirely in German with English subtitles. This would have enhanced the authenticity of the film and made it appear so much more realistic. I much acknowledge just how brilliant the portrayal of Nazi Germany was, the uniforms, makeup and filming location all made the film rather credible.