A Re-Envisioning.

A little over a week after it’s birth, FOTW just didn’t seem to be quite right.  Since this is still pretty much in the developement stage, we decided to stop what we were doing and take a look at what we really want to do with this.

We’ve been reaching to far, trying to encompass to many things.  Originally this blog was intended to encompass all things internet culture.  That’s way beyond the practical scop however, and instead we ended including little bits and snippets from too many different directions.  We decided that if we want to go for quality, not quantity, we needed a more specific focus.

Looking back over the week, we took the posts that we thought really had some meat to them and that related to eachother, and decided to focus on them.  The others we deemed interesting but unnecessary.  We’re going with a more artistic focus now.  Flash games and videos are no longer going to be regular entries.  Expect them to show up on occasion, but only when they are examples of specific merit. One a week for either of those will only fill up this site with junk that really isn’t all that useful.

We’re going to continue highlighting and Artist, Website and Musician each week.  Music and Art are huge culture influencing areas and technology has now allowed Artists and Musicians to share there work worldwide like never before.  It’s changing the face of both fields, from the proffesional’s perspective as well as the hobbyists.  There’s alot to be found here and we want to make sure we keep bringing it to you.  We also feel that featuring a website of the week has a lot to add.  Whether it’s a blog with some outstanding information or a service that changes the way we use the web, we’re going to keep bringing you sites that are on the cutting edge of internet culture.

Posts will not be limited to these three areas.  While we will make an effort to highlight something from each of those areas every week, we will also frequently share other items that we feel make an impact and deserve notice.  New social media tools, rising trends and relevant news stories are all within the scope of this site.

We believe this new focus will be good for the site and we hope you stick with us.  Thanks for reading.

-Charley

Age of War: Flash Game of the Week 3-31-08

So today was the grand release of Indestructo Tank 2. Due to the popularity of it’s predecessor I naturally planned on featuring it as today’s game of the week. But then I found Age of War (also released today – by Max Games) and played it for 3 hours…

This game is addictive. Here’s the rundown. You’ve got a fort, your enemy has a fort. It’s the stone age. You’ve got a little gold and some basic options of turrets to build and troops to hire. Go.

The game starts right off with a stream of club wielding hunter-gatherers heading toward your end of the field. The play feels somewhat similar to the many stock “tower defense” games out there, but with creeps on both sides. It actually results in wonderfully unique experience that’s a lot of fun. Things move at a pretty fast pace and the action rarely slows down. In fact you’ll often find yourself busting out your powerful special moves just to give yourself a little breathing space.

Killing units give you gold and experience of course and here’s where the next fun bit of Age of War comes in. The game has five ages: a prehistoric, medieval, renaissance, modern day and futuristic setting. Every time you get enough experience you have the option to advance to the next age, gaining access to more units and better upgrades.

With only five time periods and three difficulty settings I doubt this a game you’ll still be playing a few months from now, but it’s without a doubt one that will capture your full attention and not allow you to look away until you beat it.

Click the image below to play Age of War at Max Games.

Lack of a Musician on Friday

So you may have noticed that Friday was suspiciously empty of new content, and that’s the day I’m supposed to have a wonderful new band for you all.

Well here’s the thing, I have found an amazing group of guys new to the music scene that I guarantee are gonna rock this country in a few years.   Well it ended up being postponed and here’s why.

In the course of my research for the feature (seeing what these guys have been doing, getting showdates, finding what others have been saying about them, etc.)  I actually got in touch with one of the members of the band and was able to set up an interview!  Unfortunately for my promised schedule this won’t go down until Wednesday.  I didn’t feel right about posting an article without the interview once I had the option of including one, so I bumped the feature and it’ll go up at the end of this week.

Thanks for your patience, and be sure to check back.  Trust me, these guys rock.

Allister Dougherty: Artist of the Week 3-27-08

As I was trying to decide who to share with you for this week’s artist feature I realized I was completely ignoring a flickr feed that’s been sitting on my own firefox bookmarks toolbar for some time now.

Allister Dougherty is a photographer based in Los Angeles, and I’ve recently become a huge fan of her work. She does some great work with the inanimate, but it’s her shots that deal with people and humanity as a subject that really set her apart. Everyone of her portraits seems alive and practically buzzes with contained energy. She has an obvious flare for composition and I haven’t seen a boring pose yet. Even her still lifes brim with intensity.

While you’ll see several wonderful black and white shot’s in Dougherty’s gallery, you’ll also notice her excellent use of color in many of the shots. Again, I have to marvel at her eye for composition, positive and negative space are perfectly balanced as are the colors, whether mellow or extreme. Her gallery also clearly displays her skills in both darkroom work and digital enhancement.

I first came across Dougherty’s art when I was reviewing the upcoming social networking site Virb for an internet entrepreneurship blog. I came across her profile there and was led to her flickr feed which instantly captured my attention. After browsing through page after page of quality work I decided not to miss the any of the many more wonderful pieces she was sure to produce. Allister Dougherty became the first artist who’s flickr feed sat beside the blogs and newsfeeds I read.

I’m tempted to just keep rambling and showing off more of her art here, but I’m sure she’d rather you see it on her own pages. Here’s a few places you can check it out:

Flickr
Virb
MySpace

note: All images in this post are the work and property of Allister Dougherty. All rights reserved.

Inspiredology: Website of the Week 3-26-08

Inspiredology’s creator Chad Mueller defines it as “a new resource that covers everything that inspires us.” The site does a fair job of living up to it’s name. Browsing through it’s archives you’ll find all sorts of inspiration for the aspiring graphic artist. I spent forever just scrolling through all the beautiful examples. If you have a love for graphic art or web design you’ll definitely be able to appreciate this growing compilation of incredible work.

I originally stumbled across the site via del.icio.us. This section on Typography had made it to the front page and I was instantly drawn in by the collection of brilliant (there really is no other word for it) samples of some really stellar work with words.

Some other awesome collections on the site were one that featured several Deviant Artists and another showcasing some amazing Logos that just about got me drooling.

The Facebook Skit: Video of the Week 3-25-08

“The Facebook Skit” is hilarious parody of the popular (or it was once upon a time) Enrique Iglesias song Hero. It’s a well done song and video that takes its hilarity (and perhaps a tinge of sadness) from just how true some of it really is. The chorus rings out “I can be your facebook stalker,” and come on… you know you’ve done it.

“The Facebook Skit” was created by Penn Masala, a premier Hindi a cappella group founded at the University of Pennsylvania. They’ve had alot of success over the last few years and have given concerts in several major cities worldwide. Check out their website to learn more about them and hear some of their music.

So with out further ado, here’s “The Facebook Skit.”

Shift 2: Flash Game of the Week 3-24-08

This Monday I’m happy to be highlighting one of the most innovative flash games I’ve seen in a long time.

Developed by Armor Games, Shift 2 is a simple puzzle platformer with an ingenious twist. The player has the ability to press the [shift] key on his or her computer and flip his character through the floor while turning the black and white world upside down. The entire level switches around. Black space, which meant impassable just a moment ago, is now clear and white has made the opposite switch, turning previously insurmountable walls into easily vaulted gaps.

This simple twist (pun intended? maybe…) is just enough to turn what would otherwise be an unremarkable game into something incredibly fun to play. It takes the simple platformer and endows it with a strong puzzle element as you “shift” and flip your way through level after level trying to reach the exit door.

The original Shift was a solid first step toward a quality game, but felt incomplete. Level design was relatively simple, and the game was far more platform than puzzle. You pretty much moved until you couldn’t anymore, shifted, and repeated, grabbing a key if you came to it. Doing that would get you through most levels with virtually no headache and the main challenge came from aiming your jumps just right and clearing alot of spiked pits.

With the arrival of Shift 2 the game seems to have come closer to fulfillment. The creators have added some objects that change the orientation of the room and others that make certain blocks disappear, giving themselves a little more versatility. Level design has taken a huge step, and the difficulty is just at the right level for a lunch-break game. The focus is much more on puzzle solving now (don’t worry, it’s still solidly a platformer) and the levels will actually take a few tries to figure out, but won’t get frustrating. You won’t figure out every level right away, but you will figure them out eventually, and it shouldn’t take you hours. That’s just right for this sort of game in my opinion.

The graphics are simple but not poorly done. (Click any of the above images to full view for a better look.) I suppose they could do a little more, but they really don’t need to and the stark black and white fits the flipping-sides aspect of the game well.

Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the little bits of humor that pepper the game like machine gun fire. An ongoing gag about the timer is continued from Shift to Shift 2 and little messages such as a “suicide time!” note that shows up when you’ve made a certain wrong move on one level add to the light relaxed feel of the game and get you grinning contentedly to yourself as you play.

Oh and did I mention they have a level editor? That’s right, a built in editor lets you design, play and share your own Shift 2 levels. That’s a huge perk in a flash game and another reason that Shift 2 really stands out among other flash platformers. This and the option to submit a time-based score for a high-scores list keeps the game fun to fool around with after you’ve beat it. It keeps track of accomplishments you’ve made too, awarding you with trophies and extras.

Speaking of beating it, the game is a little on the short side, though not as short as the first one. It’s over quick, and really that’s about the only fault I can find with the game. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see a Shift 3 coming along before long, so I’m sure I’ll get my fill.

Overall this is a solidly fun game to play and that’s really all you can aim for with flash. It’s simple, original and designed well. I’m happy to dub it this week’s Flash Game of the Week.

Click the above image to play Shift 2 at Armor Games.