Duck Duck Game

Hiatus OR The new bigtime

2009-07-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

So there was a point in time when I was dead set on being a Previews Editor, and then there was a time when I was dead set on being a Producer. Of videogames. Now videogames are the out window completely because I am working full-time for Twitter.

I kept saying I would still freelance, but that was denial talking, I think. I always wanted a full-time job to focus on, and then once I got one -- and a GOOD one -- I tried to cram as much in around the edges as possible? That doesn't make any sense. So I finished my last Otaku USA deadline at least for the time being, on Saturday.

In the future, once things have progressed a bit at work, I may go back to the mag, especially since I can afford to do imports now (and I'll be working with a Japanese tutor, so I should end up understanding them better, too). That said, I don't want to make any promises or make a countdown widget. Twitter is really great and I want to give it my all there, which is really hard to do when instead of going home and working more, you go home and freelance.

It's sad in a way, but in another way it's kind of a relief. Of course, in yet another way, it's really, really exciting; I'm not failing, I'm just succeeding in a way I hadn't thought of yet.

**EDIT** Incidentally, I'll still be blogging here. I may still have things to say about videogames, and I'm certainly playing them. Should be finishing DQIV, but instead I made the grave and wonderful error of leaping into the English translation of Mother 3. Remembering how crappy it is to grind ghosts... My supervisor plays Rock Band bass, so we make a pretty kick ass rhythm section. I definitely have a huge of games I haven't even touched yet (including all those DS game I recently bought). It'll be good times...

Deal time! OR I feel lucky!

2009-05-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

I just bought:

for a grand total of 32 and change. Love buy 2 get 1 free sales. Love DS games. Ready for all the train rides in the world.

Browser Tag and....

2009-05-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

So yes, I added a tag specific to browser games. PC will be downloadable PC games and boxed PC games.

The "and..." refers to the fact that my first writing assignment completed since the advent of GMness at Cryptic has gone up: a crazy, experimental Beat.Trip Beat review, yayyyyy. (If you love it or hate it, please post your feedback over at that link and not here!! Of course you can also comment here...I need more comments...)

For now, I think my lunch break is over, but I look forward to writing about more browser games on future breaks.

QWOP for your daily fail

2009-05-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hit the ground falling.

So this actually has been around a bit, and I am too slow of a blogger, but let's take a look at QWOP, because it's so horrible!

The idea is to snap this little rag doll's tendons with the Q and W keys, as well as the...O and P keys, yes. Fast twitch muscles! Yeah! (Please don't correct my anatomy...)

So what we really have here is a puzzle game masquerading as a sports game. Perhaps all sports are puzzles, but that is another blog post and it will not appear here (!) I'm just saying that it's more about finding the correct sequence and timing of button presses than it is about jogging, nevermind sprinting.

It is pretty easy to uncover any variety of cripple runs, where you skid the avatar along on one heel and a knee. Some of these may cause you to giggle a bit, but of course, the best part is watching him finally flail out of control and whack his head, particularly because of concussion icon that pops up:

Sadface!

Satisfaction in fail! Great! Excellent! I need a new game to play! ;p Novetly for an Internet moment, QWOP nevertheless has a FB fan page.

Do I like Gears?

2009-05-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

I guess the brief amount of time I spent playing the game this evening has not really furnished enough experience to allow me to answer that question. That said, I switched to Geometry Wars 2 after not too long (Glowing Triangles of War), so that might indicate something in and of itself.

My first and constant thought is, "Wow, these graphics have not aged well." Have we really come such a long way since 2006 that these look incredibly outdated? I guess so. The frame rate does that, "Hello, I am in a cut scene" thing, like, "Look at how hard I am working to get these characters walking across the screen." I'm not sure how else to describe it. A little fuzz on the motion, almost. *not a tech person, clearly, although you'd think I would be at least a bit by now* The character models are great, but some of skin textures look rather plastic. On the whole, I just can't remember the last time I played a game that looked like this (2006?) It's almost like playing a PC game with a computer that can't crank all the settings.

Aside from that, I'm not really getting the cover mechanic very well. It seems really clunky to me, for some reason. I thought that was the main draw of this game, the great cover system. Perhaps I'll do some instruction manual diving before my next outing (which is either tomorrow, or next weekend). Could probably use some systematic education.

The other thing I'm curious about is co-op. Maybe I will try that tomorrow -- see if there are any lame souls like me playing the original instead of 2. I have had people tell me to skip the first one, but I feel like it's probably important to at least give it a shot. Or two.

I'm really raring to go on DQIV, now that I'm not stuck anymore, but I will try to save the handheld stuff for the train.

DQ Breakthrough!

2009-05-16T23:19:00.001-07:00

I really thought I was going to have to FAQ it, but Friday night in the train I managed to get past the place I was stuck in Dragon Quest IV. Where I was stuck is not really the topic here, though (although it really a pain in the ass to have a lock picking character in your party who cannot pick certain plot-salient locks just because), but moreso that I managed to resolve it on my own. What a rush! What a thrill! What a blast of genius ray!

(Or so you feel at the time before you realize that probably a bunch of people just waltzed right through it.)

It also seems to be a point for my theory of difficult games and probably difficult problems in general. If I am having trouble with a certain fight or a certain race or a certain pong-like acid trip (see Beat.Trip Beat), I just take a break. There is a limit to how effective you can be when banging your head against a brick wall. After a while of giving it all you got you just have less and less to give. Better to recharge those reflexes and come at it the next day.

In this particular case I was away (reading Dostoevsky) for almost a week before I came back to it. I wasn't even sure I had batteries. Then I was so giddy at finding my way into the mine (Chapter 4) that I accidentally rushed headlong into a boss fight without saving, ha! Luckily, managed to pull it out. Glory to the healer!

Grand Theft Velo

2009-05-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

It's a bike race inspired by GTA. Check out an interview with one of the creators at Bike Blog NYC.

Spoke too soon

2009-05-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

as I appear to be stuck in DQIV now. Report forthcoming. In the meantime, I've finally started on my first review since the new job at Cryptic drastically altered my lifestyle. Hopefully you'll be able to check it out soon on the Otaku USA website.

Dragon Quest IV: An Actual Blog Post About It with many spoilers

2009-05-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so into this game o_O

Yeah! Ok, I have fifteen minutes to try to explain how this game is the first RPG to actually draw me in inexorably since Mother 3.

Even though it was really before Mother 3.

Or Mother 2, for that matter.

Let me first direct you to some very nostalgic blogs I wrote back on my 1Up blog wherein I started to play through the first Dragon Warrior game and didn't...quite...make it:

"Thou Art Dead:" The First Four Levels
Grinding Merrily Along
Ach! My Hits! *spoilers for Dragon Warrior*
The awesome has increased by 5 **more Dragon Warrior spoilers**
(I guess that was the end...)

Anyways, you can see that I was having fun, but I think what really got me was that flute thing. I don't want to have to use a faq to beat the game -- I want to use common sense or at least intelligence. This is why it's cool that IV has little glinties in the ground where you're supposed to search!!

But that is so beside the point...

basically, I've been playing DQIV non-stop. That isn't true, obviously, but I've been playing it on the bus and in the train, at the movie theater (in line, in a seat before the film, waiting for the box office to pick up, etc.), and even in bed just to get to the save point (as much as I wanted to keep going).

I have been playing so much DQIV that the joint in my left thumb hurts. Jenn said, "Oh, Nintendo Thumb!" But I never got it as a kid when I would play hours and hours of SNES -- maybe it's a *****taking more than 15 minutes***

So now it's lunch break at work. This is how it's gonna be! Haha.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, I have never had this thumb ailment before. Am I getting old? I'm only turning 24 this summer. It is preposterous that my thumb joint should hurt after little more than an hour or two (or three) of DS a day.

Anyways, why exactly am I finding this game so engaging despite the fact that you keep having to level everyone up from level 1 at the beginning of each chapter? (I'm in the middle of Chapter...4? right now...) I think first of all it's because the characters are all so different, not only from each other, but from other characters I've seen in other games I've played. I love that one of those freaking heal slimes joins your party. I love that you play as a freaking shop owner and SELL CRAP TO PEOPLE. That was a pain in the ass, but I enjoyed it for being novel.

I'm also impressed that I have never had to FAQ anything. Getting stuck is never any fun. When I was a kid (I am embarrassed to admit, although I probably have before) I played all RPGs with a guide at pretty much all times. That's just how I did it. I was more interested in experiencing the story than messing with annoying obscure items that were impossible to locate or drawers you would never think to open that happen to contain something ridiculously important. (Wasn't there a Breath of Fire like that? Where you needed like a million $ and it was just hidden in some guy's house? I'm not going to look it up, but I remember wondering how you would ever know that.) In DQIV, people give you the hints you need, the dungeons aren't needlessly ginormous or full of overkill dead-ends with no treasure. The grind is not too terribly evil, either. Goals feel attainable. That makes me happy, because I play for fun (obviously), and attaining goals is fun.

**

I have to leave work now, but I'm sure I'll have more to say about this later.

No time, but I am playing DQIV...

2009-04-29T03:48:00.001-07:00

so that is a good thing. I will update about how happy it makes me and how Earthboundy it is, by which I obviously mean how much like it Earthbound is, ha!

This week is my first at Cryptic Studios, so, very hectic, but you know, a commute that is six hours long is definitely great for your handheld gaming life, hence the DQIV. I do wish that my headphones plugged into my DS properly, though. As it is I am just keeping the volume low and hoping no one decides to complain about it. I figure if I can hear them talking and can handle that, then they should be able to handle some cute battle music.

But yeah, I'm guessing there will be more updating on the weekends than anything for this poor blog, unless I do it on my lunch break, which is also a possibility. Of course, there is also the possibility that I play more DQIV or do push-ups or study Japanese. Eating lunch is even an option! WHO KNEW? I packed a great sandwich today.

Well this looks freaking amazing

2009-04-21T15:47:00.001-07:00

End of Eternity 'Debut' trailer HD

I liked Infinite Undiscovery quite a bit, actually, despite its flaws. Star Ocean is my project this week, but from what I've played so far, it's good. End of Eternity has an even cooler aesthetic than Star Ocean, if that is possible. I love the steam punkishness.

From Ian (and one that isn't): Recently

2009-04-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

The links that you've been missing the past few days... The links you crave... The links sent to me by my poor office-bound friend, Ian...

Gizmodo - This Is a Mouse

Vaguely game related in that you could try to pretend that you needed all these buttons and...dials? What? For WoW or something.

Joystiq - 'Super Monkey Kong' renders Donkey Kong in LEDs

My favorite part of the video (once you click through) is tapping of the person playing. Not that the actual sound effects are bad, either ;D

Dueling Analogs - Birth of a Sackboy

Is this the comic that sparked the conversation about how I want a sack of sackboys? Oh yes, it is:

Ian: SACKBOY SECRET ORIGINS: REVEALED

Me: Surely he came from a sack somewhere...SOME SACK, a prolific sack full of little boys. Sack o' boys. Hmm...I approve of this! I would like a sack of sackboys o_O OH GOSH I DO. PLEASE, YES. I am extremely taken with this concept.

Ian: ;p

Emily: I require an amigurumi knitter NOW. NOW! I'm not even kidding. Find one for meeeeeeeee, plz lol Someone who will make me a legion of plain sackboys and a sack to put them in. OH GOD IT WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL!! I'm not even kidding AT ALL. I'm going to blog about this and everyone will think I'm crazy. AHHHHH!

Ars Technica - This week in game releases: April 20-26, 2009

Ian says: "Man, so many amazing games coming up, and NONE of them are this week ;p" That said, I wouldn't mind putzing with Excitebots some more.

Ten Ton Hammer - The Rigors of Beta Testing: The Past, Present, and Future

This one is not an Ian link, but definitely noteworthy. Cody Bye investigates the MMO beta testing process from both the player and dev side of the fence.

It's here: The Pixeljam interview for which you have all been waiting...

2009-04-17T16:27:00.001-07:00

BAM!

It's not too late to tell me my tagging system sucks!

2009-04-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted my own tag cloud, but didn't think of making one in FB Graffiti until now.

I do think it does, but I am notoriously bad at tagging systems. If I have any readers, please comment and tell me what tags you would find useful. Do you want specific games listed? Are systems only ok? Do you want people, places, animals, color-coding, random things that will only come up once? I feel like it is still searchable beyond the tags, so maybe it's fine after all, but please tell me what you would like to see.

Also, I just realized today that what is called "Logistics" in all my blogs is normally called, "Meta." I mean, I understood what "Meta" meant, but I just didn't apply it to my blogs. That you will just have to deal with, as I find the word "Logistics" extremely handsome.

But yes, more tags?

I'm going to go add a tag for FaceBook graffiti right now. Just because I would like to admire my collective handiwork now and then -- I'm that vain, yes!

Now, comment!

From Ian (or not!): 4/13/2009

2009-04-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

Because it's still fun to post his links even when I get some surfing in.

Japanese Game Uses Head Tracking Webcams To Enable Hands-Free Upskirting

OH WAIT. This one actually "isn't" from Ian. This is from...the Internetz. Somewhere. Some person WHO IS NOT IAN linked me to this totally wacky panty hunt. The thing is, wouldn't you have to be under the desk to really get a good peek? At that point you can't see the monitor anymore. Is it that once you get low enough to see anything, you are so titillated that you have to just hide under your desk so your co-workers don't notice your junk rearing its otaku head? (*snark snark snark*)

Muramasa: The Demon Blade Playtest

Oh yay, this game is gonna kick so much ass. We already knew that! I'm so jealous of people with import copies. It'd be cool if I could get a Japanese Wii to take care of stuff like this for Otaku USA. I played a chunk of Odin Sphere, but that is one of the games that went to the ex. Perhaps I can borrow it sometime. Maybe I'll even pick myself up a cheap PS2 to play it on--I MEAN PAY TAXES. Hurrrrrrrrrrr...

Totally passing this on: Tezuka Game Boy, yes!

2009-04-13T11:50:00.001-07:00

I found my own link for once!

Tiny Cartridge points to eBay where we can go broke buying a sweet Osamu Tezuka themed Game Boy Light. Why is it so cool?I regret to say I do not know who all of these characters are, but look at Kimba, pouncing out at you. So adorable! I bet the pictures end up smudging off if you use it too much, though, huh. As long as it's genuine stress. Anyhow, now I'm off-topic. Mostly I'm just marveling at this lovely dovetail of my blazing ray of otaku sunshine and the comfy, daily, gamer vibe.

From Ian: 4/12/2009

2009-04-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

More stuff Ian sent me cuz I am too lazy to find my own links! Enjoy :D

New Bionic Command trailer drops science on abilities

So sure, I approve of this. This looks awesome. I love the way his body moves in the air. I must say that I always worry it is sort of Spider-Man, but clearly this is me just being completely uninformed.

Edit: Of course, the danger here is that I never actually post again, and all we have is a link fest from Ian. We're working to avoid that, but I can never promise you will never see two "From Ian" logo graffiti in a row. Thank god I made such an awesome freaking logo graffito.

From Ian: 4/11/2009

2009-04-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

I've started a new column because I have a friend named Ian who links me to things. Most of them are videogame related, so I figured since I don't really have time to surf around and find cool stuff on my own, I will just steal the things he sends to me and put them here.

Kirby

I don't read PvP generally, but Ian does. My dog actually died just before the X-mas before last, so I definitely know how this goes. That said, I can't imagine not wanting another dog, so it must be really hard. Condolences.

NeoGAF cranking out gorgeous 'Criterion Collection' box art

I will second that. Some of these are really brilliant. The question is, why couldn't we have awesome box art like this?

Keita Takahashi @ GDC: Noby Noby Damashii

2009-04-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

This thing I put together of an awful lot of awesome Keita Takahashi quotes sort of got lost in the shuffle a couple weeks ago, so it's here now. Anyone who is a fan of Katamari Damacy or Noby Noby Boy *raises hand* should really enjoy the things he says. I've always wanted to hear him talk, so it was really great to have the opportunity this year at GDC.

"Damashii" is a Japanese word for "spirit" so I think it applies to this talk. "I'm very normal -- I don't use drugs at all or drink at all; please do not worry about me -- I'm ok," remarked Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy, near the beginning of his presentation on Thursday. Not only did he reveal some news about the Noby Noby Boy update coming probably near the end of April, with four-player local co-op (and what sounds like some new tunes with horns and vocals instead of the the simple, relaxing guitar), but he spoke very openly and genuinely on his creative process and goals in designing the game.

He started with a look back on Katamari Damacy: "In that game, i wanted to show a little bit of an ironic point of view about consumption society, but I wanted to use more objects -- if there are fewer objects on the map I feel lonely or empty. So I wanted to make more objects so my game would look lively, colorful, and enjoyable. As a result, I decided to make more objects, but when these objects are rolled in and absorbed by the ball, they disappear into the katamari -- they're gone. I feel the same way about the disposable society..."

This time around, though, he had a little bit different philosophy: "Katamari Damacy had basic rules in there meaning you wanted to have a huge katamari, so the size was a goal and there was a time limit as well, but I wasn't happy with the fact that that existed. ... [T]he fact that as the stages become bigger, the size of the goals increase as well -- this just seemed like a formula and I felt somehow betrayed ...

"This is perhaps a little bit abstract, but I wanted to make something that didn't necessarily have a visible goal, that did not have set formulas. I wanted to create a game where the developers maybe couldn't even imagine what would happen. Of course, at this stage, I didn't think about debugging..." If his team had asked him what counted as a bug he wouldn't have been able to answer.

His concern about consumption still carries through, as well: "You know, Hayao Miyazaki, movie director, he said once that children these days are not playing, they're consuming. I think that's really the case, isn't it? Perhaps I'm getting a little sidetracked, but in Japan, people who sit in front of games are called 'users." Maybe this is only in the game industry. I always thought there was something wrong with this. Games are meant to be played, but why do we say they are 'users.' Weren't we supposed to PLAY games?

"Perhaps it's a little bit minute, but that had bothered me. We just throw around the terms 'users' without even thinking about it so perhaps it's natural that is all about consumption just like Miyazaki says. But of course, in order to run a game development company, what's created has to be something that is consumable ; but, having said that I wonder if it's really right for a person who just came to the company to just start talking about 'users, users.' It makes me so mad, it makes me want to bonk them. Sometimes I think maybe they should just die."

There are a couple reasons Noby Noby Boy ended up on PS3 despite an Xbox 360 prototype, which he actually showed video of. One is that he was dissatisfied with the way the 360 controller's analog sticks were not directly across from one another -- he drew us an illustration live over the top of his presentation slides, and the other had to do with ethical concerns:

"In Japan you will often see people playing DS and PSP in trains. You see that very often, well...everyone is looking down at their devices, their consoles and bleeping and blooping, playing their PlayStations... Now, saying this, certainly for games to sell and for the companies to make money it's really good -- especially for those of us who make a living off of that, but are we really making games because we want to see the world reacting like this? ... [E]ven if the parent is sitting right next to him, the child will not even talk to the parent and just keep playing the game. This made me think that maybe it's not so good if a game really sells, so I thought maybe I should make sure that Noby Noby Boy should only be on PS3 and only by download. That would mean it's not going to sell that much. So it's been about one month since we launched it, but I was right -- it's not selling that much. Well, actually that's probably not so good, but..."

The development took longer because they ended up adding in a physics system (and this was after even changing the engine already), but not Havok, because "...if you use it you have to show their logo somewhere. I didn't want to do that. I thought it would be awful to hae to put that logo out every time." They ended up going with some physics tools that Sony Computer Entertainment has on offer. "In the end, we had to put out the Namco Bandai logo, so in the end showing someone's logo was not something we could avoid."

He then admitted that, "...despite the fact that there are problems with having definite goals, Noby Noby actually does have a goal as well and that goal is to take this character, this space girl, this huge character, and make her longer by communicating to her the size of the Boys. And the goal is to connect the solar system. Why did I create a goal like this? Well, because I thought it was such a huge goal that it won't really qualify as a goal for the game, so perhaps it will pass that muster. And it's also full of dreams, in a sense."

He revealed that at the current pace of girl extension, it will take 820 years to completely unlock all the planets. The title Noby Noby Boy comes from the world "nobiru" to stretch, but "nobinobi" also refers to feeling carefree and -- ha, procrastination. Noting his own eventual death, he sounded concerned, "What should I do? What should I do?" but later on during Q&A when someone asked whether he would shrink it down or cut off at Jupiter, he seemed more sure of himself, "If we can't do it, that's OK. I'm not going to shrink it."

In tow for the presentation was a really adorable and comfy-looking Noby Noby Boy scarf. The head and butt are actually mittens, and you can even put your arms in like sleeves, near the ends. He had been planning on rewarding players with an item like this, a big stuffed "pillow" Boy that his sister made, or the traditional wooden kokeshi dolls he had been making -- in fact, he joked that if the game sold well he would just retire and make kokeshi. These presents were meant to thank the player for enjoying the game. Unfortunately, realizing something like this on a global scale would be next to impossible, but he joked again that even postal mix-ups could be fun, and that items might end up on online auctions so he could buy them back and resend them.

Among the pictures of his family with various Noby Noby Boy paraphernalia, demos of the new multiplayer mode, and concept art slides, he pulled out an iPhone to show us Boy squiggling around on that platform. When asked during Q&A about a date/price point he said, "The iPhone [version] was just started a week ago. Probably the price will be almost free if we decide to do it." Clearly no PR wranglers in this operation, and we love it.

Takahashi had some generally inspirational things to say near the end of his talk: "If we love videogames, then we have to think about [the potential of the medium] more, and feel more, observe more ... perhaps we have to ignore the players and the company and create a game we like. Maybe we should just rely on our own inner feeling." More freedom and less constraint "...will create something fantastic or fantastically awful, but even fantastically awful still has value ... To create something new is one of the missions we game developers have."

To that end, he is also working on something entirely different -- a playground (as we keep hearing). When asked for news on that project, he confirmed, "We haven't had a concrete plan yet, but last month some source asked me, 'You'd like to make a playground?' and I said, "Yes."

That long awaited GDC round-up

2009-04-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

Aux hai. Still here, yes. Sort of. Actually not EVERYTHING from GDC-abouts has gone up yet, but I think mostly. A couple previews and whatnot will find their way in next week.

Speeches/Panels:

Indie Game Maker Rant

Single vs Multiplayer Game Design

Pixeljammin' - The Web Game Biz

Making LOVE In Your Bedroom

No More Excuses - Taking the Wii Online

Mind = Blown: Experimental Gameplay

Previews:

Punch-Out!!

Excitebots: Trick Racing

Interviews:

Masaya Matsuura (NanaOn-Sha)

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk (BioWare) - with Jonathan Zungre

Rich Grillotti and Miles Tilmann (PixelJam) - ditto

A Cryptic Message

2009-03-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

So I know I said there would be some news coming up (and then I told you to save your game with that pun-tastical FaceBook graffiti I made so long ago). Well, here it is: a month from today I start my new job as a game master at Cryptic Studios...at least, if my background check comes back ok, which, I'm not sure why it wouldn't.

What does that mean exactly? Still figuring that out. In case you don't know, Cryptic developed City of Heroes before NCSoft bought it, and they are currently working on Champions Online and Star Trek Online. The job is full-time, but contract, so I will continue to do some writing on the side for the time being, I think. That said, I may actually enjoy having days off -- three a week, to be exact. Just think -- I can PLAY VIDEOGAMES (and tennis!), study more Japanese, spend more time with friends, all without that nagging, I-should-totally-be-working-so-hard-right-now feeling.

The job is in Los Gatos. It may not be exactly a six hour round trip commute, but...you know, it's close enough to six hours that you can say six hours. It's a long commute, and yes that's because I don't have car, nor a license to drive one, and will be hopping multiple public transportation systems and hopefully investing in a bike. Maybe a car is a good goal, although of course I'd much rather read/sleep in the train than pay for gas. I have been looking into moving, but there are so many incentives to stay put that I just don't know if I could handle leaving.

I almost wonder if I can really handle leaving the journalism side of the fence. It's really more of a straddle right now, but a full-time job, contract though it may be, is certainly a leg over. I.e. I have more of a leg over the industry side of the fence right now than I do over the journalism side, despite the past 2 years of writing experience. How do I feel about that? Well, of course, I'm thrilled; legs over fences, feet in doors -- no matter the metaphor, it's a good thing. Bitter sweet, of course, but I think I can be very happy as long as there are videogames involved, and there are tons of things I could pursue in either direction, so I'm glad to have more open doors (or...fence gates).

This blog will not be about work, but the games I play in-between and what gets me excited about games in general (and I can tell you it is more than 4 player local co-op in Noby Noby Boy despite the ridiculous awesomeness of that).

GD-GD-GDC!

2009-03-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

So so so it is that wonderful time again when we all ramble on over to the Moscone Center to think about how games are made. I have a ton of work to do (before, during, after), but I think I am finally excited -- was worried it just wouldn't happen.

Anyways, this post is just a big peace out. Look for a digest of news/previews later.

Go forth and purchase Henry Hatsworth!

2009-03-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventures is already one of my favorite games on DS...soooooooo buy it, heh. If you like platformers, match-3 puzzle games, giant robots, and monocles, this is a no brainer -- and if you don't, then what the hell is wrong with you?

;p

Check here for more info if that delightfully brief description hasn't piqued your interest enough. Yeah, I'm still crunching on work. Hopefully I'll be able to make a real post soon...

Fallout 3 from the next room over

2009-03-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

I realize that this could be taken out of context in many ways, and perhaps my VATS guy looks sort of like a zombie...but OH WELL.

My roommate bought Fallout 3 (for 360) this weekend and has devoted nearly all of his waking time to playing it. I have been attempting some diligence at work (MadWorld, Mana Khemia, etc.) in my room, but I keep hearing snippets of conversations and reloading guns (I assume), clicks of menus, white noise. I wonder when my day with Fallout 3 will come? I have at least one friend who has played it three times already.

GLORY BE!!!!! (Co-op in Noby Noby Boy)

2009-03-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

High concept, low quality.

I think I might be able to die happy now. Who's gonna come play with me?

Update -- another thought: Do you think the update will also include some more background music? That WAS Boy's other daydream. GLEE :D

Another update: Oh, hey, there's even a new one. #3 is about hairstyles for the house o_O Insane, but I like it. This is swiftly becoming one of my favorite games of all time.