Posts Tagged ‘UK’

Got to worry about my diet too...

DoFuss has moved, or more accurately I have moved, back to the UK. After nearly seven years in Japan the time came to head home and start looking for work in the game industry seriously. It is going to be an uphill struggle. There will be thousands of people younger than me, fresh out of university with applicable skills, and thousands more with experience that I am lacking. Still should be fun, right?

As part of being back, it being a new year and being unemployed, I am attempting to become more active here and on Game People in the coming months. There is already one article here for later this week as well as two previews from TGS that I never got around to publishing previously (both fittingly of games that are about to release) and of course the final DoFuss Show coming later this month.

With many more articles in mind this site should get back to its old schedule soon, but with a few changes in content. Firstly there will be less about Japan, except by comparison. Instead expect my focus to shift towards the surprises of adapting back to life in the UK and the shocks this brings, such as game prices, the state of second-hand gaming and the general culture of our collective hobby. There may also occasionally be some slightly self-indulgent posts about my problems getting reacclimatised to (supposedly) my own society.

Keep an eye on DoFuss here for more posts later this week, and every week going forward. Sorry for the hiatus, but living back with my parents I promise I will have lots of time to make up for my previous inactivity. As has become something of a theme for post recently if you have been missing my writing and can’t wait until later this week to read some below are some links to my recent articles on Play Devil and Game People to keep you going.

Halo – Reach, Valkyria Chronicles 3, Prinny Can I Really be the Hero, Vanquish, Enslaved – Odyssey to the West, Marvel Vs Capcom 3, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.

Alan Wake – The Writer, Sonic the Hedgehog  – Episode 1, Vanquish, King of Fighters – Sky Stage, Game of the Year Awards 2010.

We are back for the almost-last DoFuss Show. December will see the last DoFuss Show with my return from Japan to the UK. As I won’t be in the ‘land of the rising sun’ any more, the opening lyrics claim that I am ‘the number one gaijin, the man in Japan who can’ will become hopelessly inaccurate so (as we can’t be bothered to rewrite the theme tune) we decided to cancel the show.

Being busy trying to get ready for my return from Japan it has been a while since the last show, because of this it is a game and news filled episode. Stretching the entire gamut of gaming we jump from Half Life to Megaman, Yakuza to Kinect and 3D Space Tank to the Bible (don’t ask). But any podcast can bring you games, so we also deliver the best in Japanese terror attacks and a smattering of my own personal insecurities about my immanent return to Blighty.

Just in case you are worried about the fate of DoFuss, don’t be. The site will endure, and in the near future Darren and I will return with some as-yet-still-amorphous something for you aural delectation. I say ‘near future’, but I mean in the New Year once I am settled and (hopefully) employed back in the UK. Talking of which, if anyone knows of any job openings in England please let me know, the email address on the left. Thanks.

The DoFuss Show – Penultimate [ 1:03:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Darren and I are back again, and just in the nick of time to fulfil our twice-monthly commitment, although we both still seem dead set on declaring that the show is weekly. We aren’t, and I will leave it for you to decide if that is a good or a bad thing.

This show’s unintentional theme is cultural divides. With me returning to the UK later this year Darren decided to prepare me for re-entry with terrifying snippets from the British tabloid ‘The Sun’. While this is an apt reintroduction to the state of my home nation, I cannot help but feel there is a veiled message from Darren to stay in the land of sushi and fun that is Japan, rather than heading back to the doom and bombed out Woolworths that now seems to be the hallmark of my home nation.

Beyond this new ‘scare Alex off coming back to the UK’ segment we hit all of our usual topics. Heaven and Hell see Android phones and Word Press taking pride of place in discussion. This is swiftly followed by some games we have been playing (Jump Ultimate All Stars, Final Fight and Super Street Fighter 4) and a few highlights of news from the last two weeks. To top off all this game discussion we visit the topic of game design and how Japanese and Western methods inform each other, or not, and the results of such collaborations.

Also of course there is Darren’s Old Games, which I am determined to rebrand as ‘Darren’s Good Old Games’. This week he imparts his vast array of Mario knowledge.

If you enjoy the show, have an idea for features, or just want to scare me off my return to England, please let us know. See you in two weeks.

The DoFuss Show – Trying To Bridge Cultural Divides. [ 1:14:40 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Like my art home work back at high school just getting this one in just in time. After the last rather light podcast we have hit back with a content packed but somewhat undirected episode. So a full month of gaming and news fill the majority of the show.

News is sprinkled through out. We touch on a number of topics that have been affecting gaming in the UK recently. Then we bitch about Nintendo. Because they deserve it sometimes. We wrap up with the usual Darren’s old games with is a breathless summation of the wonderful Sensible Software.

The DoFuss Podcast [ 1:03:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download