Today is October 5. That means that November 5, Guy Fawkes Night, is one month away.

While we don't celebrate this day in the US (it's not even a public holiday in the United Kingdom - it's only a yearly celebration), many of us know of this day thanks to the DC Comics / Vertigo graphic novel (comic book) series V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and its movie adaptation (with inimitable performances by Natalie Portman as Evey and Hugo Weaving as V).

Still, any "holiday" that gives people an excuse to light fireworks and go door-to-door begging for spare change sounds like something worth celebrating. So we at QJ.NET invite you to get into the spirit of things to remember, remember the 5th of November.

On the 5th of November we're going to post an article or two about video games, gadgets, technology, and general geekness - what moves us and affects us and touches us, and all the things about video gaming and technology that ought not be forgotten. Pretty much like the QuickJump QuickList articles in our Opinions & Analysis section at the front page and the other articles in the Opinions & Analysis sections of our many video game, science, and gadget blogs.

We invite you to plan ahead and consider what you want to remember on that day - because our articles obviously can't be the final word - that's what comments and the QJ.NET Forums are for. (Besides, now that we've turned off anonymous comments - and now that comments are smarter, funnier, and more meaningful - you have a good venue to share your reactions.)

We look forward to your thoughts. See you on the 5th of November.

 

When the writer/director of the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film, 300, Zack Snyder was asked by Yahoo Video Games, about his intentions of churning out a game based on his adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, he had this to say:

At first I wanted to do a larger platform game, but it takes a while for the Hollywood machine to pull a trigger on something like that. ...We wanted to do Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but everyone has in mind what they want to do with marketing and everything. By the time they get around to pulling the trigger and they want a day and date with the movie, we ended up with the PSP. I'm completely happy with the game we made. I think it's cool.

So there you have it folks, the reason for why 300: March to Glory ended up on the PSP.

What's nice about the PSP game, is that Snyder was very involved with the development of the game. It seems that Snyder actually played through the game, and worked closely with Collision Studios to ensure that the game retains the organic low-tech feel that the movie has.

A specific example of Snyder's influence on the game would be the waving capes on the characters in the game. Despite the fact that Collision could've used the memory (used for the waving capes) on other things, they tried their best to ensure that Snyder's vision for 300 is still there.

 

Before we go, if you're curious about what other graphic novel Snyder chosen to bring to the world of the cinema and video games. Here's a little teaser:

The next movie I'm working on is Watchmen. ...Because of my experience with 300, we've been talking about doing a big game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that's consistent with the movie's satire. It can't be just a straight-forward game. It has to be more sophisticated, like the movie is. That's the kind of challenge we face when you make a game from a movie.

Alan Moore's Ozymandias in an Xbox 360 game? Sign me up.