The Monday Post: Challenge Yourself

So, while I have 2 weeks off from school (but not my job), I've decided to spend that time relaxing. Just kidding. I've realized that I want to keep my skills sharp. So I'm going to enter myself into the Ludum Dare that starts this Friday. What the hell is this? In a nutshell (or In a Nuts Hell, depending on where you put the spaces):

• 48 hours to complete, from scratch a game
• Theme is finalized on last day. You must make the game in the theme
• You must work on your own, in the time limit. That means design, code, and *gasp* art
• If you have pre-existing files that jump start you, you have to share them
• You share your game and source code at the end.
• After the comp is done, 3 weeks of playing and voting

So, if you see me on Facebook or some other chat over the coming weekend say hi. If I don't say it back, it might be because I'm cursing at my computer. I might try to stream part of it on Justin.Tv but I'm not sure yet. Wish me luck!

The Monday Post: Clang, thud?

I just saw a post reminding me about the Kickstarter campaign by one of my favorite authors, Neal Stephenson. The elevator pitch is he's going to create a game and framework for sword fighting games the way that racing games have their own peripherals. Fine controlled motion capture and swords. How can that go wrong?

The Monday Post: D&D Dice Probabilities

So I was playing my weekly game this week of Dungeons and Dragons when I was presented a rather odd opportunity for my character: I Cleric was (literally) flying overhead of my character about 30 feet (thanks to a potion of flight) and the best my fighter could think of to do was throw his 2-Handed Bastard sword up like a spear to try to hit the cleric. I needed a natural 20 to hit. I got an 18. I missed, but not by much.

The Monday Post: Stress Relief D&D

Long post ahead!

The Monday Post: Big Huge's Big Layoffs

 So, less than 2 years ago I made this post, and more importantly took these two photos:

This was my first taste of what was to become... well let me tell you what happened this week. Baseball player Curt Schilling's 38 Studios and developer Big Huge Games shut their doors. Just... *slam*, you're gone, GTFO. Curt himself was seen driving off, box in the passenger seat of his BMW. Sadly, the shuttered employees (all 400 or so) aren't so lucky.

I have to sit back here for a moment, and realize I could be one of them in the future. BHG and 38 were paid quite a bit by Rhode Island to move there, but in the end they couldn't pay back that loan. All for making a game that I had high hopes for, but ultimately failed to deliver*.

Best wishes to the families of those laid off. Best of luck for myself to have a backup plan, a fall back plan, and backup contingencies for each. I hope.


*Before you question my thoughts, the only way to that game could have broken even would have been a 90+ rating. The 6.0 user score (at the time of this writing) is just the final nail in the coffin.

The Monday Post - Randomly Generated Games

So I'm still not sure of a title format so bear with me, this is a new setup.

This is a little deeper but at the same time less thought out than some of my exploratory posts (the ones dealing with being an introvert I mean). I've been thinking about what games I always come back to and want to play. I don't mean the fact that I have GTA:Vice City with a fully unlocked save currently installed. I use that to blow off steam (when you know the right cheat codes you can blow up the whole fucking island and get away with it... and you know that feels so damn good).

No, I'm speaking of games that are new and different every time you come to them. I'm talking about the Rouge-like RPG. Whasat? You don't know them? Oh boy oh boy time for me to deluge you with links:

• Wikipedia on Roguelikes
• NetHack: The best, still updated text based version.
• Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup: A more graphical version of the above.
• Dungeons of Dredmor: Massively fun and difficult graphical roguelike. I'd almost say it redefines the genre.
• Desktop Dungeons: A mix of Rogue and Minesweeper. Meant to be played quick, and is brutal because of it.

I have to say what I get and like about games like this is that though the base game is the same, every time I start a new level or character my priorities have to change with it. Dredmor is a good example, where I'll find myself running into a Deth (think Death, the Grim Reaper or sorts) on the first floor. I damn well know I can't fight toe to toe at that low a level but I've got my fire spells. In another game I might never run into one. I honestly don't think I've been below the 3rd floor ever in a game, but I continue to play.

I might have a more thought out post in the future, so this one is just a teaser. Be seeing you.

Game Jam and Toast

So I've been busy with adjusting to school, my school workload, and other things that I may or may not enumerate later.

Right now I'm waist deep in a Noob Game Jam:

Google Image Search for Game Jam. Sounds yummy!

So what is this, really? Basically we "Jam Noobs" (ie those that have never been in a game jam) get paired up with vets in teams to make a game. In 48 hrs. With or without sleep. I took the former, though see below on what I've learned. What have I learned?

• If you want to sleep, having a RedBull at 9 PM is not a good way to do it. Falling asleep at 3 AM and getting back up at 7 AM is not a good thing.
• Open design docs, ones that all in a team can edit, are breeding grounds for scope creep. Thank the gods that I took some initiative to nail things down.
• I'm a better artist than I give myself credit for. I'll post some of my 'junk' below. 
• Also egos can run in. No, we're not doing the A-Team van.
• We are very sick, sick puppies. The group I'm apart of is doing Rundown, where we run down pedestrians and shoot at the other cars. Our special enemies include Justin Bieber, Obama, and a drunken college girl, among others. Oh and a bear that throws sharks while ridding a unicycle. Yeah the artist, my friend James, is very, erm, pleased to have to draw that by hand. Yeah

So I've got 20 hrs to go on this, wish me luck that I make it. Here's a quick dump of the art I've made so far, enjoy!

Regarding Legalities: GameStop, Deus Ex, and OnLive

So unless you've been under a rather large rock for the past few days you'll notice in the gaming world a bit of a kerfuffle right now: SquareEnix released the retail version of Deux Ex: Human Revolution with a $50 coupon for OnLive, and digital games distribution network. GameStop.Was.Pissed. They took the time to open each box and remove the coupon, and are now fully removing the retail version until further notice.

Since I'm stuck daydreaming at work (Tomorrow is the last day :O ) I thought I would chime in on this. I've read enough up on it to form some (not all) solid opinions on what is going on:

Bethesda Announces Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

For those whom might not know what I'm talking about: The Elder Scrolls (by Bethesda Softworks) is an action RPG series started in 1994 with Arena. You play in the world of Nim on the continent of Tamriel. The series is both remarkable for its setting (9 provinces each with a distinctive story and topography. Also 9 races, but they're not spread one per province) and game play immersion (to quote the manual from the 2nd game, Daggerfall, the developers wanted to create a "book with blank pages" that a player fills out with their actions).

So imagine my surprise as I read through my RSS feeds this morning and come across this lovely trailer:

It's Beautiful: XKCD's Optimal Tic-Tac-Toe Comic

This is going to be too big, just hit the jump

How to play Facebook games and keep your friends happy

So as I was rummaging around my RSS feed I came across this link about how Zynga is going to make what appears to be a SimCity clone, and now they are worth more than the IP holders of said game, EA.

But scanning the comments I saw not complaints about how big Zynga is getting, but the fact that everyone hated either the status updates, or having to block apps they didn't like.

I felt odd: None of my friends have to do this because I take a proactive way of blocking the updates from those who could not care less to see them (i.e. non-players). So, below, I'm going to show you how to be like me: Play a metric shit-ton of games but keep those who don't happy.

I really just need to break down and buy Minecraft

Yes... I just blew an hours worth of my time doing this in the free version of Minecraft. And yes that's the Black Mage from Final Fantasy 1

Don't know what that is? Hows the moss on that rock you live under. It's been featured on webcomics (Penny Arcade for example), gaming news sites and there are dozens of videos on YouTube. Including this one, which is about as much Aspergers as anyone can take in a day.

I'm not making this up: Michael Jackson MMO in the works

The only thing I can think to say to this damn idea is "let the man rest in piece already!" But no, someone won't, and this monstrosity comes out of that:

[Planet Michael Website]

My brain hurts thinking about this. I can only imagine the activities this thing will have inside:

• Bribe the parents to keep quiet
• How to tell time (the big hand goes over the little hand)
• Baby catcher (failed in beta, Michael never dropped the kid)
• Military Fashion Designer
• Guess the Surgery
• Monkey Pet Rescue

I could keep going on with the jokes but it would be besides the point. This, honestly, is a money grab on the dead man's fame. This is just as bad, if not worse, than anything that happened to Elvis since his own death.

Kids Grow Up So Fast These Days

So let me get this straight. Kid misses bus. Kid wants/needs to get to school (fears missing school, or at least the punishment from it). Kid get in the car.

Break in my logic here: Kid got keys from where and why the parents weren't out yet (could be later in the day jobs I guess *shrug*)

Continuing: Kid gets in car, and drives. Experience? Not a simulator. No, this child learned to drive the best say. Grand Theft Fucking Auto! Oh and Monster Truck Jam, but we're talking a car here not Bigfoot.

Oh, and he didn't' use the safe house either: two 90s, two ditches, and a telephone pole. Then... ya know some kids must like school more than I did... he gets out and keeps walking to school. That, right there, is determination. Also proves he played one of the GTA series before #3. I could never jack cars that well in the game and for the life of me I don't know why.

Steam Scam Spore Suckers?

So Steam is doing a holiday sale, and with the removal of ScecuRom from their version of Spore I've decided to end my 6 year embargo on the company and pick up Spore and the Cute/Creepy addon. So I start to pull out my wallet and I notice something strange on this page. I've copied this below for posterity:

Individual price $55.48
Package price $69.98
limited time discount -$7.00
Cost to you $62.98

Yes... if you act now and buy the pack, you get a whopping $7 off the price. Or you can go the costly route and buy each separately, you too can dish out $55.... and save twice as much? I'm wondering, really, if someone at Valve didn't cook up this one hoping no one would notice.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Things left in the dust of the election: Brandon Crip

So, as the US Presidential Election wore on other news happened. Sadly, because of my own fixation about Obama's then impending victory I kind of neglected to write about some of the other news events that caught my eye. So with my world winding down for the holidays I troweled through my notes for stories.  So with that said, here we go.

---

Interesting and sad story is the one of Brandon Crisp. On the night of October 13 and argument between his parents over playing COD4: Modern Warfare in excess prompted the young 15-year-old to pack a backpack and take to the road on his bike. The next day the parents filed a police report when their son did not return overnight. While the police picked up their search, the media picked up the story. Anyone want to guess the cause the media pegged onto the reason Brandon ran away? Video games.

Sadly I wish there was an interview/counseling for Brandon to find out what his real reasons were, big or small. His body was found, lifeless, on November 5th by a pair of hunters, in an area that was just outside the original search area. From the autopsy it was determined he'd fallen out of a tree. 

Now, for its worth I'm going to fork my argument here. After the fact the family decided to make a charitable foundation in his name, funneling its funds into Canadian Tire's Jump Start, which provides funds for poor children to take up sports. Sports? Well.. hmmm... bravo then. I get it. It honest would have been a better activity than the video games. And for that, I give heartfelt condolences for your loss... to a point.

See, I'm reading something else here, and it stinks. Contrary to what the media really wants the parents of today to think, video games are not an addicting substance. No more addicting than a father pushing his son, living vicariously through his actions that the father himself could not accomplish. In the end, it is a symptom of something else going on. And this case, we may fully never know. Did he having something else going on his life? To put it bluntly, yes. Yes he did and it saddens me that no one digged a little deeper to find it.

And for the media itself during all of this? You could hear the cries of "wont someone think of the children" from fucking orbit.  It has become the catchall for the problems of societies youth. Is our children playing to much? Honestly? No, they aren't. What they do have is a system of support that labels each and every thing a potential problem, shoves pills down their throat if they are a small bit out of line with the norm, and has little to nothing in the understanding department of what we are exactly putting today's youth through.

Antispore.com, Rickroll or not?

So, after reading on Game Politics that the whole antispore site was a giant Rickroll I'm left wondering if the site was hacked or not. As it stands:

• The content that was a rickroll was there but now has been removed
• The site itself was registered via 'Domains by Proxy', a service that hides the registrar info from sites. Via proxy the site is on GoDaddy.
• There was a claim at the end of rickrolling of Poe's law, which I've never heard of up until this point. Have to agree with the statement.
• There are both persons in the world that are crazy enough to act like the mother who (supposedly) runs Antispore, and just as many who are really good at acting like it for parody (see Poe's law above).

If it was hacked, fine. If I've been punked, equally fine. I didn't put too much thought in it when I did post.

[Edit] The Rickroll went back up, I swear it wasn't in the top post ealier. I'm calling this one a greatly played hoax.

Oh, and it gets better (Spore)

Normally I have an issues with Christians and Creationists. But now, not so much. Yeah, that be some Jesus-loving hate for a fucking video game right there.

Topics

So this post will remain until I use at least one of the 'labels' *cough*tags*cough* below, mostly as these will be the main tags I use (all others will be secondary)

Guess I could fill this post up with what they mean:

• Technology: things that make the IT world go around
  
• Games: I play way too many, and have opinions on them
  
• Music: Releases, controversies, karaoke
  
• Politics: Decline To State liberal and how I see htings
  
• Life: Things happening to me, where I'll be, things I'll do, shit like that.
  
• News: General news items, or things that don't fit the next catagory (or the above ones)
  
• Oddball: Oddball his hosted by our good friend Sum Ting Wong. Things in the news, tech, life et. al. that are not quite what you would think they would be.
  
• Parting Shots: Kinda my 'followup' tag... I mean label. Used when I do a post, well, following up on a topic I've previously posted about.

Spore DRM: How to buzzkill you're own product

So... I have a more or less hate/hate relationship with Spore right now.  I hate EA... have for year that I will enumerate later. So lets say off the bat that I know that I am biased.

But that doesn't even cover it. There are 3 sad letters that kill any WANT for this game: DRM. Digital Rights Management. And not just an odd bit of it like having to have the disk in the drive to play.

You get 3 installs... total. If you install and then uninstall, you still have burnt through one install. Not even iTunes is that fucked up. If 'deauthorize' your computer with iTunes, you get one of your 5 installs back. You can even (search it up) get iTunes to blast all authorized computers to start out fresh. Of course you can only use that once every 12 months. But you still get them back without being treated like a criminal.

From an Internet posting concerning Mass Effect, which has a similar scheme, if you go over with EA be prepared to be on the phone for a loooooong time. That and you have to send in a proof of purchase. Something that I don't even keep. Receipts and barcodes. How many of you diligently would keep them for a few years? I'm going to guess few. And you all have OCD :P

But seriously, I reformat my drive like twice a year to keep it fresh. That would mean I'd have a year and a half of gaming before begging. That still seems too short.

Oh, one last parting shot: This DRM was meant to keep the game from being pirated. As of 2 days before the game was to release a DRM-less version was already on The (Pirate) Bay. I can't help but laugh.