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The fight with Namir…
Why is Zao here, hanging out in the naked skinless muscle man room? How did she know you were coming? (Remembering that it’s possible you ghosted everything before now.) Since she knew you were coming, why is she here in the open, waiting for you? Shouldn’t she be worried that you would just shoot her?
Why is Namir here, naked? Really, think about this: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP38:
Naked Muscle Man”
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This part was a bit of a head-scratcher for me. Pritchard, if the signal is being jammed, then how are we able to talk at all? One thing that should never happen is people people having a conversation over the internet about how they can’t establish a connection over the internet.
And yes, this episode title is a jab at the bomb in the original Deus Ex.
Here is Spoony’s review of Final Fantasy X. Note that he HATED the game. I mean, I know he kind of rages against everything and that’s part of his charm, but I think he hated this with unusual fervor. I agree with all of the points against the game (Tidus was whiny, the game was too linear, Blitzball sucked, etc) but for some reason I liked it anyway.
Rick recently asked:
Off topic here Shamus, but I'm curious. As a programmer and a writer does it bug you that writing convention has close quotes after the period at the end of a sentence?
Vader explained “Luke, I am your father.”
As a programmer it infuriates me that the quote reaches out past the end of the sentence. It's within the sentence, therefore logic dictates it should finish within the sentence.
I've even seen plenty of books/magazines/websites/newspapers miss the closing quote marks completely when at the end of a paragraph. For it to be that widespread it must be a typographical rule I'm unfamiliar with.
I’m sure a lot of this weirdness comes from the way the written word has evolved. First as pen-on-paper, then typeset, and finally to this digital form. However, that doesn’t excuse the lapses of logic in the system.
One of the problems here is that we’re nesting sentences.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Programming Language vs. Written Language”
EVERYONE is asking me what I think of Mass Effect 3. I’m getting it in Twitter, email, and comments in multiple threads. I don’t think there has ever been a time when this many people wanted to discuss a single game like this. I’ve never seen such a pent-up urge to have a conversation. It’s actually kind of impressive, even if a lot of it is critical.
Sadly, I don’t have the game yet. We just spent a load of money on hardcopies of my book, and the royalties from the first sales won’t show up for another month and a half. (Another thing publishers do for you: They have the resources to solve this particular cash-flow problem.) Not to mention PAX East is coming up.
So, please be patient. It’ll happen. Please don’t post spoilers in the comments. I want to go into this cold. If I know what’s coming, it will blunt the effect, good or bad.
And the next question you’re likely to ask is, “How is the book selling?”
Roughly: Not bad. It’s selling in the hundreds, not thousands, but it’s selling. And other self-pubbing authors are quick to remind me that in self-pubbing, it’s all about the long haul. (The attitude of “Sell ten thousand copies in a month, or die” is a relic of the old system, apparently. Now the goal is, “Sell ten thousand, eventually, and in the meantime keep writing so your books can sell each other.”) The reviews are generally favorable, and I’ve got a few marketing efforts left to do.
Yes, another book is in the works. No, it’s not due soon by any stretch of the imagination. It just hit 25k words, which is the do-or-die point for me. Two years ago I started a book, hit 25k, realized it was a bad idea, and abandoned it. Next I wrote Witch Watch, and when I hit 25k I was thinking, “Yeah. This is working.” This book seems to be going well. So far. I’m not saying anything more about it. Okay you twisted my arm: It’s sci-fi.
And while we’re at it, do any of you have suggestions for sites that would be interested in a review copy of TWW? I’m talking about sites that you personally read and respect. I can google around and find a limitless number of sites willing to accept a free book, but I’d like to know about ones that have some kind of overlap with people who already like what I do here.
So far I have:
Any other suggestions?
EDIT: The Mass Effect 3 problem has been solved by a nice person making use of the donate button. We’re good now.
Link (YouTube) |
The Airport Security game I mention in this episode is still around, and you can play it here. (Warning: Site is a bit spammy.) It’s one of those things that’s better in concept than in execution. It’s great satire, but it’s not exactly a bundle of kitten giggles in the gameplay department.
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In this episode, Chris brought up the point that some people have claimed the game is enforcing a “right” and “wrong” way to play by way of XP rewards. To wit: The game gives out more XP for stealth than for direct murder.
During the episode I countered that the game does give rewards for killing. Notably, I think that a tranq and a lethal headshot give the same reward. (20 bonus XP.) However, I wasn’t taking into account the end-of-sequence lump-sum payments. The rewards for “ghost” and “smooth operator” are huge, and you can’t get those if you ever go in guns blazing.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP35:Deus Accent”
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It is Spring. The year is 1559 â€" at least, according to the Nanban traders that now swarm our ports, bringing trade and foreign gold from a far off place called “Europe.”
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In the months that have passed since last summer, we’ve recruited a group of elite Kisho Ninja, trained to apply the arts of subterfuge, subversion, stealth, and assassination to the battlefield.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Josh Plays Shogun 2 Part 16: The Beginning of the End”
A horrible, railroading, stupid, contrived, and painfully ill-conceived roleplaying campaign. All in good fun.
Why is internet news so bad, why do people prefer celebrity fluff, and how could it be made better?
Let's do some scripting to make the Starcraft AI fight itself, and see how smart it is. Or isn't.
Why spend millions on visuals that are just a distraction from the REAL game of hotbar-watching?
Cities: Skylines is bound to have a sequel sooner or later. Where can this series go next, and what changes would I like to see?
I wanted to take the file format of a late 90s shooter and read it in modern-day Unity. This is the result.
The true story of three strange days in 1989, when the last months of my adolescence ran out and the first few sparks of adulthood appeared.
It's not a good movie, but it was made with good intentions and if you look closely you can find a few interesting ideas.
Game developer Jon Blow is making a programming language just for games. Why is he doing this, and what will it mean for game development?
A long-form analysis on one of the greatest horror games ever made.
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