T w e n t y S i d e d
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remastered CXXXIX: Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy!”
DM of the Rings Remastered CXXXIX: Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy!
MTG Prerelease Outing
Magic the Gathering’s newest set is a Universes Beyond release based around Avatar: The Last Airbender. Prior to the full retail release of a new set in Magic there’s events called “prereleases” that allow you to play with the new cards early. My wife, myself, Bay, and Izzy will be heading out to a local event tonight.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “MTG Prerelease Outing”
Wednesday Action Log 11-12-25
More Slay the Spire this week.
I’ve been slowly getting better at playing as the Watcher. My main roadblock has been that the only runs that make it anywhere near the end are usually focused on blocking. They have such little damage that it takes 20 turns to fight a regular monster, let alone a boss. Surely if I just do the same thing again I’ll get a different result.
What’s everyone else up too?
Slasher Movie Evolution: In the Case of Halloween and Halloween II
Last week we talked about the origin of the “Big Three” slasher movie franchises: Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. All three of the original movies were created as stand-alone films, although as noted A Nightmare on Elm Street had a sequel approved right at the end of filming, causing a final scene to be added that essentially negated the conclusion (and arguably the message) of the movie. All three franchises would eventually re-write their long-lasting villains into different concepts, but not necessarily immediately.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Slasher Movie Evolution: In the Case of Halloween and Halloween II”
DM of the Rings Remastered CXXXVIII: Another Cunning Gambit
Trophies and Achievements Are Fine. Good Even.
Achievements and trophies have been a contentious addition to the gaming space since their initial releases. The majority of people mostly ignore them. Some find it mildly annoying to have their immersion or momentum broken up by a HUD element obscuring the action. Some really hate them, viewing them as trivializing and undermining the individual game’s enjoyment or message for the sake of short-term dopamine. Certain dopamine deprived monkeys, like myself, love them. And for the sake of this article I will refer to them all collectively as trophies, as the PSN system is my area of focus.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Trophies and Achievements Are Fine. Good Even.”
Wednesday Action Log 11-05-25
This week was once again, uneventful.
I played more Slay the Spire, and pretty much spent the whole week trying to beat the game with the Defect. Yesterday I did it with great effort and luck. And now I’m going to try to beat it as the Watcher.
I did also play a few rounds of R.E.P.O. since the monster update came out. I’ve only seen a few of the new monsters, but they have definitely spiced things up.
How’s everyone else doing this week?
From The Archives:
The Best of 2011
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2011.
This Scene Breaks a Character
Small changes to the animations can have a huge impact on how the audience interprets a scene.
In Defense of Crunch
Crunch-mode game development isn't good, but sometimes it happens for good reasons.
Revisiting a Dead Engine
I wanted to take the file format of a late 90s shooter and read it in modern-day Unity. This is the result.
The Best of 2013
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2013.
MMO Population Problems
Computers keep getting more powerful. So why do the population caps for massively multiplayer games stay about the same?
The Best of 2016
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2016.
Programming Vexations
Here is a 13 part series where I talk about programming games, programming languages, and programming problems.
Good to be the King?
Which would you rather be: A king in the middle ages, or a lower-income laborer in the 21st century?
What is Piracy?
It seems like a simple question, but it turns out everyone has a different idea of right and wrong in the digital world.