Just a quick blurb about Steve Jobs’ keynote at MWSF yesterday.

Every rumor came true, but not in the way most bloggers had expected. During the keynote, SJ talked about how every so often, a product comes along that changes the way people think about products. He went on to say they had been very lucky to already have several products like that, and that today, they were announcing 3 new products, aside from the others that had already launched:

• A widescreen iPod.
• A mobile phone.
• An internet capable device.

But instead of 3 different devices, they were blended to form one. The iPhone.

To be honest, I think they did a fantastic job with both the form, and the execution. Multi-touch user interface, gesture recognition, 120 ppi screen (!), the list goes on and on. I thought one of the slickest things was when you turn it on its side, whatever you’re looking at switches to landscape mode. So say you’re scrolling through pictures, and you come to a wide one, just turn it, and you’ve got the whole thing with no black bars. Smooth.

As I was watching the text feed of the event yesterday a little voice came into my head saying, “I know what I an wants for his birthday.”

That little voice was right. The only problem is that it’s released in June. So…time machine anyone?

[seriously.]

And then, on the first of the new year, I beat The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

I feel…depressed. It’s such a mammoth of a game, I thought the ending scenes would be a little longer. That seemed to be the tone of the game: everything is very satisfying as you are doing it, but when you are done, you’re just left wanting more. I guess that’s how you know if you’ve made a good game.

There are lots of cool items that are not only fun to use and and that become more useful as you progress, but you never stop using an item. Remember the boomerang you get in the very first temple? Don’t get ready to use it once or twice and then ditch it - you’ll need it again not too far from now. And that’s a good way of doing it: having a steady pacing of the use of items you get.

Not to mention the dungeons. Some can seem simple and unchallenging at a cursory glance, but all it takes is a bit of walking around, and you’ll learn that the design, pace, and challenges in each instance is its own marvel.

There’s also a lot to be said for ambience. A gentle shift in color, some atmospheric effects, and the right undertones of a melody (not to mention some memorable tunes!) can mean the difference between an eerie courtyard or a thriving thoroughfare.

At any rate, I think they did a fantastic job with the title, it’s just my opinion that the end was a little truncated. If you’re on the fence about the newest Zelda, try it out. It’s certainly no pick-up-and-play like Wii Sports, but it’s very deep, very satisfying, and it never ceased to heap on the fun.

[buh-nuh-nuh-nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!]