T w e n t y S i d e d
– Shamus, Wednesday Sep 27, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remaster X: Our Growing Family”
DM of the Rings Remaster X: Our Growing Family
Sims 4 Overthinking: Michael
Kelly gives her mom a hug on the porch of the ‘new’ house. She is surrounded by luggage, but it isn’t hers, hers is still in the taxi. Michael is trying to look busy organizing Kelly’s things for her while she and her mother talk on the porch. Kelly is on her way to her dad’s house, but has stopped to make sure that Michael and her mom are settled, first. “He won’t mention it to you, but he’s got a shellfish allergy.” Kelly says, grasping at conversational straws.
“No shellfish…got it.” Lorretta replies, feeling suddenly as though she’s being left pet-sitting.
Kelly and her mom have never gotten along very well, but now, with Kelly’s pregnancy, leaving school, and boyfriend, there are too many elephants in the room to even pretend effectively. Eventually, Kelly climbs back into her taxi. She and Michael say their goodbyes quietly and have a quick hushed conversation Lorretta cannot hear, before Kelly closes the window and the taxi drives away, leaving Michael behind.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: Michael”
DM of the Rings IX: Too Warm a Welcome
When you want an image to use for your character portrait, you have two choices:
- Spend years mastering the art of sci-fi / fantasy illustration. Perhaps attend art school. Hone your craft until you can fully realize your character on paper just as you imagine them.
- Use Google Image Search and swipe something that looks roughly like how you want your character to look.
For whatever reason, most players take the lazy way and opt for #2, despite the fact that there is a 90% chance they are going to look like a brooding androgynous goth / punk elf holding the wrong weapon.
Go figure.
– Shamus, Monday Sep 25, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings IX: Too Warm a Welcome”
Medicated!
After a six month waiting period, I’ve finally gotten in with a rheumatologist. Yay! Drugs! So many helpful drugs. Thank God for modern medicine.
But, this does mean a short transitional period. My hands feel like they’ve been run over by a train while I wait for this stuff to kick in. Next week, we explore Lorretta and Michael’s meeting. This week, what are you guys playing/watching/doing?
I’m currently introducing Elliot to Doctor Who and finally watching all the post-Tennant content I never touched. Good time to binge-watch something, but I have to admit, still not a Matt Smith fan.
DM of the Rings Remaster: A Tearful Reunion
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– Shamus, Friday Sep 22, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remaster: A Tearful Reunion”
Sims 4 Overthinking: Getting to Work
The first order of business this week is scraping off wallpaper. Lorretta has help in the form of her oldest daughter, and the two of them spend a weekend taking the wallpaper down and out of the living room. They start working on the entryway before her daughter has to return to university, leaving Lorretta fully alone. Lorretta is in her fifties, and realizing very quickly that she hasn’t been entirely alone for more than a few days, ever. She’d moved right from her parents house into her married life of husband and children, and now she has a big open house to herself.
Some moments it’s nice, some it’s not, she’s conflicted on the subject.
She finishes taking the wallpaper down and out of the entryway, and debates back and forth hiring a professional. On one hand, the work is hard and she’s doing it alone. A contractor would have the same job done in half the time and twice as good. On the other hand, though, Jimbo told Lorretta about the water damage upstairs, and she’s trying to save her budget for fixing that.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: Getting to Work”
DM of the Rings Remaster: Let’s go Shopping!
– Shamus, Wednesday Sep 20, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remaster: Let’s go Shopping!”
From The Archives:
In Defense of Crunch
Crunch-mode game development isn't good, but sometimes it happens for good reasons.
Ludonarrative Dissonance
What is this silly word, why did some people get so irritated by it, and why did it fall out of use?
Starcraft 2: Rush Analysis
I write a program to simulate different strategies in Starcraft 2, to see how they compare.
PC Hardware is Toast
This is why shopping for graphics cards is so stupid and miserable.
Are Lootboxes Gambling?
Obviously they are. Right? Actually, is this another one of those sneaky hard-to-define things?
Trashing the Heap
What does it mean when a program crashes, and why does it happen?
Chainmail Bikini
A horrible, railroading, stupid, contrived, and painfully ill-conceived roleplaying campaign. All in good fun.
The Disappointment Engine
No Man's Sky is a game seemingly engineered to create a cycle of anticipation and disappointment.
What Does a Robot Want?
No, self-aware robots aren't going to turn on us, Skynet-style. Not unless we designed them to.
Trekrospective
A look back at Star Trek, from the Original Series to the Abrams Reboot.