The game is closed, the world has gone the way of the punchcard, Lucasarts adventure games, my cheery disposition, and games with proper endings.
Not that I’ve been pining for it or anything. I had my fill and moved on. But I do lament the unrealized potential the game showed.
Maybe it was just me. I dunno.
I would like to point out that Steven Blum has now appeared in 40% of the Unskippable episodes, all of which also co-starred the moon. Here he plays the guy with tattoos.
This is a pretty good showcase of terrible plot devices. It’s almost a kind of “can you spot them all?” sort of thing. From the plot exposition newscast to the big-font decryption, this thing is kind of funny even before the guys begin their cruel taunting.
“Hey! There’s a party in my pants and you’re… underage.”
I own a Wii. (I mean I have one of my own. There is another Wii in the living room, used by the rest of the family.) I never play games on it. I basically use it as an exercise machine with the “help” of WiiFit. But I am glad the machine exists. Even though the platform doesn’t really feature games that suit my taste*, I think the Wii will have a larger and more lasting impact on videogames than either of the other two consoles, and I think those changes will be for the better. And so I feel compelled to take the critics of the machine to task.
Now, I expect most of the Wii critics are simply Xbox / PS fans who don’t like that their chosen platform isn’t justifying their purchase by way of sales numbers, and so I’m probably selling garlic to vampires with this one. Still, I think it needed to be said. I’m content to do all my gaming on the #2 and #3 platforms knowing that the seeds currently being sown on the Wii will probably pay off in the next generation.
*Madworld looks pretty exciting, though. I’ll probably be grabbing that one.
I’ve noticed that there is a really strong tradeoff between aesthetics and functionality in blog designs. The more striking or impressive a blog design looks, the harder it is to find the stuff you’re looking for. I sometimes browse WordPress themes to see what the hip crowd is up to. Invariably I’ll find something sexy, look at it closer, and realize that the thing would be either a chore to navigate or monstrous to maintain. (Note that I’m not shopping for themes for this site or anything. All of my stuff is homebrew, old-school, table-driven, and hardcoded to meet the various eccentricities of this site. I’m just browsing out of curiosity, and because a lot of them are really pretty to look at. I drive a tractor, but I like to walk around and look at the sportscars on occasion.)
It quickly becomes apparent that I don’t actually have much freedom at all in formatting the site. 800px wide. 600px for the content. The balance goes to sidebar and whatnot.
But I’m curious what other people like, or what looks good. (Go ahead and throw in a link to your own blog if it’s something that works for you. No need to be shy. I don’t mind a little self-promotion.) Seeing nice themes in action is really different than seeing them on the showroom floor at WordPress.org. Yes, I know functionality and performance trump visual fireworks – the appeal of which wanes quickly – but it’s natural to want a bit of both and I’m curious about what other people find appealing.
Also: I’m sure my spam defenses will throw a tantrum if people start posting links. Please be patient with the spam filter. It is stupid and has no taste. I’ll approve comments as soon as I can.
EDIT: Sorry for the completely not-related-to-the-topic-of-the-blog post. I have a column going up later today, if that appeases you.
EDIT2: I’m really surprised at the number of people who actually like the site design. I’ll have to be careful not to upset whatever accidental alchemy I have in place when I make my tweaks to the site. Which reminds me: It’s possible to use an animated .gif as a repeating background on a page, right?
I’ve been playing Overlord. Go and read my comic about it or feel my wrath, peasant.
Or don’t. That’s okay too, I guess. I mean, it’s there, and I worked hard on it, and I’d be upset if it didn’t get the attention I feel it deserves. Some people say I don’t react to rejection in a positive, productive manner. Sometimes fire is involved, is all I’m saying.
I’m more of a passive-aggressive supreme undead overtyrant, really.
At the fifty second mark:
I assume that’s a made-up name?
If not, then God help that poor, poor man.
A novel-sized analysis of the Mass Effect series that explains where it all went wrong. Spoiler: It was long before the ending.
Computers keep getting more powerful. So why do the population caps for massively multiplayer games stay about the same?
I wanted to take the file format of a late 90s shooter and read it in modern-day Unity. This is the result.
Few people remember BioWare's Jade Empire, but it had a unique setting and a really well-executed plot twist.
A look at the main Borderlands games. What works, what doesn't, and where the series can go from here.
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
Here is a long look at a game that tries to live up to a big legacy and fails hilariously.
Would you have survived in the middle ages?
This version of Silver Sable is poorly designed, horribly written, and placed in the game for all the wrong reasons.
It's not a legend. It was real. There was a time before DLC. Before DRM. Before crappy ports. It was glorious.
T w e n t y S i d e d
