As what Tychus Findlay would say “Hell, it’s about time”. Yes indeed, with 12 years in the waiting since 1998, Starcraft 2 is finally released and in the hands of gamers as part of a 3 series story starting with the Terran campaign- “Wings of liberty”. The official launch party in Singapore was on today afternoon at atrium of Funan the digital lifestyle mall. Long queues snaking around the building can be seen right before noon today, with the first in line said to be camping in the mall for the last 48 hours.

I usually see great value in the games Blizzard publish, namely from their 3 flagship games and universes- Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo, I am not really a fan of the Warcraft series, particularly getting hooked on World of warcraft, despite playing the series since WC2 and all their expansions. Besides Diablo too, Starcraft has always been a series which stood close to my heart during my growing up years, let be the endless multi-player sessions with friends right after school everyday via our 56kps dial-up modems. Those were indeed the days.

No stores in Funan were stocking the game as of yet today, with the launch party being the only exclusive source of the game today. Boxed versions of the game will be available in store tomorrow with or without additional freebies/goodies depending on the store you brought your game from. Had a chat with Brian Kindregan from Blizzard who was there for the launch as well, a nice chap who also had no problems with photos!

Brian Kindregan from Blizzard- SC2 lead writer

The queues outside

And we have boxes! & boxes

The thought of Starcraft 2 is indeed nostalgic, with thoughts of reliving the good old days in pure high definition glory or visuals. Graphics had definitely improved, though anyone familiar with the old Starcraft interface will be disappointed with nothing really new introduced in the game- mostly everything being a fancy repacked remake of what is currently existing with a few additional units. On the contrary, that was exactly what Blizzard had in mind too, so that old players can simply just jump right into the game and play it just like the old game, 2 sides of the story.

The game is highly optimized for performance too, the game runs flawlessly at Ultra settings (1920×1200) with a high respectable frame rate on an i7-950 and GTX280 setup as well as a dated Q9450 and HD3870 setup at home. Will be trying the game out on my tri-screen setup at 3600×1920. Sure beats the old game fixed at 640×480.

With Wings of liberty released, Blizzard was unable to comment on the launch of the boxes campaigns for the Zerg and Protoss campaigns as well, only time will tell where more information will be released in public. In the meantime, the next Blizzard game to put your crosshairs on next will be Diablo III.

Currently on display at the Singapore National museum are one of the most talked about pieces in modern art- Cai Guo-Qiang’s flying pack of wolves, Head on. Just like any modern art, it can either awe, shock or draw controversial flak. But you can’t deny this is a show stealer.

Head on!

Not an everyday scene

Wolf-off!

Showcase talk
Located in the underground bowels of the National museum, the display was made out of 99 individual replica wolves and were produced in Quanzhou, China in 2006 (from January to June). The wolves are made to follow a continuous circle, running off in a pack before leaping off into an orderly floating frenzy before coming head first into a glass wall. The glass wall symbolizes the invisible roadblocks and challenges we face in life due to miscalculated risks or greed, which will inevitably stop you dead in your tracks.

No wolves were harmed in the making of this showcase- The workshop commissioned in manufacturing these remarkable, life-sized replicas of animals are local in Cai’s hometown. First, small clay models were created as movement studies, out of which Cai subsequently developed Head On’s artist editions of cast resin wolves. However, the realistic and lifelike 99 wolves that grew out of these models and drawings possess no literal remnants of wolves. No wolves were harmed in making the exhibit. they are fabricated from painted sheepskins and stuffed with hay and metal wires, with plastic lending contour to their faces and marbles for eyes.

A running start

Take off!

Bonk!

There are two other works on display as well, Illusion and Vortex:

Illusion II (2006)
The destruction of a small exploding house packed with fireworks, exploring the contradiction between beauty and violence.

Vortex (2006)
One of Cai Guo-Qiang’s gunpowder masterpieces, depicting thousands of wolves chasing one another in a ciruclar motion as if sucked into a vortex. The pack of wolves moves with grea tengery force and determination, simultaneously demostrating a perfect unity with organic power of the gunpowder.

About Cai Guo-Qiang
Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou City, Fujian, China. He was trained in stage design at the Shanghai Theater Academy from 1981 to 1985. Cai’s work is scholarly and often politically charged. Cai initially began working with gunpowder to foster spontaneity and confront the suppressive, controlled artistic tradition and social climate in China.

Double Bonk!

A pile of wolves

A gun powder piece

While living in Japan from 1986 to 1995, Cai explored the properties of gunpowder in his drawings, an inquiry that eventually led to his experimentation with explosives on a massive scale and the development of his signature “explosion events,” artistically choreographed shows incorporating fireworks and other pyrotechnics. In 1995, he moved to New York with a grant from the New York-based Asian Cultural Council, an international organization to promote artistic exchanges between Asian countries and the United States.

Be sure to check out the displays before August!

The Singapore national museum had changed quite a lot since I last visited the place a few years back. The front lobby area is still left largely intact, but though seemingly nothing much has changed on the exterior, the magic comes when you enter the building. The compound now spots an extended basement exhibition hall area, effectively increasing the exhibition floor area by a substantial amount.

Decked in modern-ish white and black it’s like the perfect showground for contemporary media- whether it’s the vast open spaces for large sculptures or the high walls to deck large paintings on. The two most interesting exhibits for the day are located in these two basement level exhibition halls, namely the Singapura 1960s exhibit and Cai Guo-Qiang’s controversial art.

The 1960s Singapore showcase
This exhibit “Singapore 1960″ celebrates a year on after 50 years of self-government. The display takes the form of a vibrant and colourful ‘live’ show set interjected with both noteworthy and quirky news articles throughout that year, all lined along the curved walls of time, separating the main exhibit partitions. Interesting to note are the news, advertisements and even comics shown on the papers then, some do really stood the change of time. The show features over 300 artifacts will be presented in the manner of art installations.

Interior of the museum

1960 Singapore exhibit

Clothing of the yesteryear

Featured too in the exhibit is a 100-year old Strohmenger grand piano which used used in the composing of the national anthem, sexy sarong kebayas, the Aw Boon Haw jade collection, fully sequinned Chinese opera costumes, hundreds of popular vinyl records and publications, two pairs of sweat-stained boxing gloves and a kitschy diorama; these were some of the icons that dotted post-WWII Singapore’s socio-cultural landscape.

The display is free for viewing and rather professionally done in my opinion. There are some cultural spaces familiar to Singaporeans then such as the eclectic Haw Par Villa and the defunct neon-lit ‘Worlds’ amusement parks. The whole display is rather small in my opinion and I believe could be expanded to show more of Singapore’s part than just that particular year, but that is just mostly it, would love to see more.

Passage through time

Niffy displays

Wall of vinyls

Commendably, in comparison to several museums I’ve been in London, particularly the Tate, British, Natural History and Science museums, which I can vouch for are world class museums, the Singapore national museum in my personal opinion not bad on that standard, with the exception of the smaller exhibition space.

I will touch on Cai Guo-Qiang’s gallery in a separate post.