Minmaxing Life

The reviews for Soul Bubbles are rolling in:

“As beautiful as it is joyous to play, as charming as it is fun and as impressive as it is surprising, Soul Bubbles really deserves your attention. (…) It’s one of the purest gaming experiences we’ve had for a long while. (…) It’s beautiful, it’s elegant, it’s clever - if you don’t like this game, you’re dead inside.”
- The Official Nintendo Magazine.

“(…) now and again a developer comes along with a creation that is so well designed it makes everything else look a bit slapdash. Mekensleep is one such developer and its game, Soul Bubbles, is triumphantly good. (…) The design of the levels is bordering on genius. (…) If superb gameplay wasn’t enough, Soul Bubbles looks utterly enchanting too. (…) A game that in years to come will be looked back on as a classic.”
- NRevolution

“A simple and brilliantly executed idea. (…) This is quite simply one of the best games for DS we’ve played for ages.”
- Gamesmaster

“It’s quite amazing how inventive developer Mekensleep has managed to be with bubbles; they’re put to every use imaginable in the game, and new ideas are constantly introduced at just the right pace, all the way up to the final fiendish world. (…) More than anything, Soul Bubbles is just great fun to play with – blowing a bubble around has never been more fun. There is surprising depth to its puzzles, and it’s great to see the DS host such a great and intuitive idea again after months of copycat shelf-filler.
- IGN.com

And in French:

“Ce titre incroyable est un OVNI féérique (…) A la fois beau, intelligent et empreint d’une réelle poésie, Soul Bubbles est de ces titres exceptionnels qui séduisent toutes personnes qui s’y essaient.”
- Le Magazine Officiel Nintendo

“Rare sont les jeux qui m’ont autant emballé sur cette machine. Déplacer cette bulle dans ce labyrinthe est si simple et prenant ! Le titre fourmille de bonnes idées et l’envie de découvrir la suivante est plus grande à chaque fois. Les réactions physiques de la bulle surprennent tant elle paraissent réelles. J’ai été également charmé par la qualité des décors et l’atmosphère générale du titre. La console éteinte, on se sent aussi bien qu’après un week-end à la campagne, loin de la pollution les poumons bourrés d’air pur et frais. (…) Le pari est totalement réussi pour Mekensleep. L’OVNI du mois.
- Console+

And with that, I’m off to Japan…

The past four days in Sainte Marie have not been as sunny as one would have hoped. After all winter is coming in Madagascar, and the rain with it. But no one cares under water so - rather than spending all my time lying on the white sand - I went diving. I am constantly amazed by the vitality of nature here and diving was another perfect illustration. Thousands of tropical fishes everywhere, swimming in swarms sometimes so dense you can hardly see through them. Seashells, 5 kilos lobsters (yummy! - too bad its forbidden to pick them up while diving), nudibranchs (sea slugs), black tip sharks, white tip sharks, gray sharks, rays, it’s got it all. I even saw a crocodilefish. Ugly, yes, but it was a first for me.
And I’ve never seen such a concentration of lion fishes! Until now, I’ve always seen them mostly isolated and hiding around rocks. Here, they go by groups of up to 5 individuals, swim in the open and are totally unafraid of humans. I could count dozens in a single dive.

As you can probably tell, I’m really enjoying my time. But in a few days, it will be time to head back to Paris. Different types of pleasures await…

The past few days have been all about the Lemurs. I went across the private reserve of the Vakôna lodge and Ankanin’ny Nofy - the dream nest - a small island made into a beautiful reserve. So I’ve made lots of new friends: Propithecus diadema (Diademed Sifaka), Varecia Variegata (the Vari), Propithecus verreauxi coquereli, Eulemur Coronatus, Eulemur Macaco (the black lemur), Indri (the Babakoto), more Fulvus and a rare hybrid endemic to this island. They are such a riot!

I’ve also seen crocodiles, snakes, turtles, lots of rare trees, plants and orchids and even the legendary Fossa. That last one was in captivity unfortunately, as they are very hard to observe in their natural habitat and - if released - they would eat all the surrounding lemurs.

After that I traveled by boat down the “canal des Pangalanes” to reach Tamatave where I am now posting. Tomorrow, I will be flying to Nosy Boraha otherwise known as Sainte-Marie island. See you there!

Did I say the drive to Ifaty was epic? Boy was I wrong…

I’ll tell you what’s really epic: 2 flights, followed by 10 hellish hours of driving off roads under a relentless sun, trying not to get stuck in the mud (and 12 hours of the same on the way back), crossing two rivers with the 4×4 on rafts all of this followed the next day by hours of walking and climbing and squeezing yourself through tiny holes and crevices.

But then you get there and it makes it all worthwile.

Before reaching Tuléar, I spent a couple of days in the national park of Isalo where I saw my first lemurs. I was lucky to catch a glimpse of two of the three diurnal species that live in the area: the lemur catta - national emblem of the island - and the lemur fulvus rufus.

Also went trekking and had a swim in the natural pools (of cold water!). Caught some beautiful shots coming back down at sunset. The pics are up on Flickr.

I am now in Ifaty a small village by the seaside after an epic drive where we got stuck in the sand twice! Thankfully the local villagers helped us out and we made it safely, late in the evening yesterday.

I’ve been in Madagascar for a week now. Not enough time to have anything worthwhile to say but I’ll still record my initial reaction - if only to compare it with future perceptions.

After landing in Antananarivo - the capital city - some 400 km from the sea, I am now traveling down the RN7 road to the costal city of Tuléar. The landscape so far has mostly been the red earth high grounds from the center of the island which, to my amazement, reminds me very strongly of central Australia. Between 3:30 to 5 pm the sunlight turns golden and enhances everything it touches. I’ve also seen a couple of remarkable lakes around Antsirabe. One of them - the Tritriva lake - has surreal, bright blue water, and is almost completely still. The legend has it that two lovers who where denied marriage drowned themselves there and it is now “fady” (forbidden) to bathe in it.

The country seems to have exceptional ressources: ingenious people, skilled craftsmen, rare minerals, all kinds of crops, one-of-a-kind biodiversity, wonderful natural sights and even oil! Which makes it all the more surprising to witness how poor the general population is… From my limited understanding, the main explanation seems to point to years of political mismanagement and corruption. But even though the people are amongst the poorest in the world, I did not get the sense of desperation and urgency I’ve felt in other parts of the globe. Not until now at least. Folks are friendly and show genuine interest: it is not uncommon to be called out loud “Vasaha” (foreigner) by little children trying to grab your attention in the street. Of course some of them see you as a walking candy/cash/pencil dispenser but most are just curious and eager for an interesting interaction. Showing them their portrait on a digital camera is often enough to generate endless laughter and a procession of would-be models.

Madagascar may well be the land of tranquility or, as they say, mora-mora (pronounced mooramoor) but to me, right now, it looks like an extremely inviting playground…

A few quotes from the previews that are coming in for Soul Bubbles:

“(…) it’s a demanding little game that’s a lot tougher than it initially looks. (…) Soul Bubbles has taken us completely by surprise. The game is dripping with character and could end up being a cult favourite.”
- Nintendo Official magazine

“Soul Bubbles has a compulsive quality to it – no doubt exacerbated by its gorgeous aesthetic design and beautiful ambient score. (…) Mekensleep may well have hit upon the DS’s very own answer to LocoRoco.”
- Edge magazine

“Soul Bubbles is perfect for the DS and has a great sense of style, humour and accessibility for all gamers. This could definitely be a cult hit. (…) gorgeous graphics and a definite ‘aww’ factor.”
- Gamesmaster magazine

“Innovative, original and beautiful. Prepare to be blown away!”
- NRevolution magazine

“The level design and general polish is up there with Nintendo’s own products. (…) The art style is highly seductive. (…) Bitter experience often stops us from making early recommendations when it comes to third-party DS games, but with Soul Bubbles we have no hesitation”
- Games TM

Now this is exactly what I needed to justify my vacations… Thanks so much guys!

I’ve savagely updated to Wordpress 2.5.1 by reinstalling from scratch and importing my comment file. I just didn’t have the time to figure out the horrendous upgrade process…

One of my plugin forced me to change the permalink format, so sorry if I’ve broken anything.
Let me know if anything else is not working.

J’étais vendredi aux deuxièmes “assises du jeu vidéo” qui, comme l’année dernière, avaient lieu dans la salle Colbert du Palais Bourbon (l’assemblée nationale). Pour être honnête c’était assez déprimant. Malgré quelques interventions de qualité - comme celle de Laurent Michaud - analyste de l’IDATE - qui a donné un bon aperçu des lignes de force du secteur, le ton général était tout de même largement à côté de la plaque.

Entre les distributeurs qui s’imaginent que rien ne va changer avec l’avènement de la distribution online et la ministre de la culture dont le discours laissait entendre que le jeu vidéo allait devoir rentrer dans le costume vieillot et étriqué du droit d’auteur tel qu’on le conçoit en France, l’ambiance était un peu celle de Pompeii avant l’éruption du Vésuve.

Mais une fois de plus, la palme du burlesque est sans conteste revenue à Jean-Claude Larue - l’indéboulonnable délégué général du SELL (syndicat des éditeurs). Il n’a pas hésité à agresser Guillaume de Fondaumière - président de l’APOM (syndicat des développeurs) - en lui reprochant vertement de demander l’assistance financière des pouvoirs publiques. Il faut tout de même oser le faire, quand les membres de son propre syndicat - de l’américain Electronic Arts au français Ubisoft en passant par la britannique Eidos - font la course à celui qui délocalisera le plus vite et le plus fort au Canada où, comme est venu nous l’expliquer un entrepreneur local, les aides peuvent parfois atteindre 85% des budgets!

Je comprends bien que les éditeurs voient d’un mauvais oeil tout ce qui pourrait permettre aux studios de s’émanciper de leur tutelle financière mais tout de même : comment peuvent-ils espérer être crédibles dans leur critique des aides françaises aux développeurs alors qu’ils profitent eux-même de distortions de concurrence tellement plus graves au Canada ?

Ils ont beau jeu d’oublier que le crédit d’impôt récemment voté (jusqu’à 20% pour certaines productions) n’a pour effet que de compenser minimalement la concurrence déloyale dont ils profitent à l’étranger. C’est vraiment l’hopital qui se moque de la charité…

Back in Paris. Yesterday we passed Nintendo’s approval for the EU and today we passed US - both on first try.
This means Soul Bubbles is now Officially Done. Woohoo!

Time to relax… Has anyone heard of a good surfing spot in April? :)