Queen of Hearts

E3 Roundup, Tellin' it like it is

2011-06-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.demonpigeon.com/2011/06/08/e3ccg%C2%B2/

"Microsoft’s conference engaged a simpering sycophantic baby audience in a soylent green haze. As with last year’s E3, Microsoft are continuing to attempt to convince a load of simple minded idiots to STAND UP and MOVE, both two of my least favourite things."

Queen of Hearts

2011-04-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

http://scrap.oldbookillustrations.com/post/4577260343/caldecott-queen-hearts-cover

Mario Underworld

2011-04-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

http://manusupra.tumblr.com/post/4469443854/voici-les-entrailles-dun-niveau-de-super-mario

Amazing Fallout 3 History Article

2010-12-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.playthepast.org/?p=459

"Fallout 3 offers much to swoon over. In hindsight though, the most memorable moments from my game play are not slow-motion replays of exploding super mutant heads. Most of the in-game moments that have stuck with me involve interactions with, Apple II-ish green-screened in-game terminals. Computers that have apparently been running since before the nuclear holocaust.
....

"What strikes me about these logs is the layers of authenticity they provide for the kinds of thinking that historians and archeologists use to produce histories. As players unearth and develop a sense of what happened in this world from these kinds of records they do so in strikingly similar ways to historians and archeologists.

"For example:

Dealing with gaps: There is no complete record. The game requires players to extrapolate from disparate and scant sources. This in part creates the mystery that drives the history game (both for fallout players and for real life historians.)

The documents are full of relevant and irrelevant information: The documents contain all kinds of potentially relevant and irrelevant technical information. Players need to be able to tell what does and doesn’t matter in the morass of materials they come across.

Relevance of the information is connected to what you want to know: The above documents include information about personal reactions, about strategic decision making, about attempts to get into the Vaults. Depending on what you are interested in you will need to pay attention to different parts of the documents."

This has me thinking about why I always said I enjoyed comics so much, because I like to fill in the spaces between the panels.

The Psychology of Shooters

2010-12-15T11:54:00.001-08:00

"Why shooting feels so good." by Jamie Madigan of Penny Arcade fame.

Try this experiment: go outside and find some wild animal babies, like wolves and/or toddlers. Got them? Great. Now, watch them play. Many animals, including humans, engage in play fighting where they only pretend to savage each other. In real fights even victors can get hurt, so any risk-free practice is valuable. Of course, no psychologist will tell you that dragon-punching Zangief is going to help you when some bully comes out swinging-but there's a parallel to play fighting in another part of our imagination that can have real benefits.

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/217312/the-psychology-of-shooters/

The most ground-breaking video games of 2010

2010-12-14T14:43:00.001-08:00

Which video games had that little bit extra? New Scientist asks the cognoscenti.

http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/the-best-video-games-of-2010

Ein's PA Minecraft Server: Welcome to Rapture, Part 1

2010-10-19T15:05:00.002-07:00

HAPPY NEW VEGAS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-19T12:27:00.003-07:00

GROOOOOAAAAN is it 5pm yet??!! why didnt i take the day off???!

broox: life sucks when you have to playout fallout new vegas at 11:40AM
tats: oh shut UP
tats: oh my god
tats: you bastard
broox: LOL
tats: Tatiana Gill cries
tats: you got it?!?!
tats: i cant beleive it
broox: yeah
tats: youre using VATS?
tats: and not crying?
broox: we will see
broox: im going with a fresh start approach to this one
tats: excellent
tats: free your mind and your thumbs will follow[12:15:45 PM] broox: any pro tips before i jump into this?
tats: oh fallout?!? yeah the perks and stats you dole out, thats important
tats: but its designed to groom to taste so you mite want to just find out what you like...but basically pick perks and stats that give you more perks and stats points at the beginning, if possible
tats: standard technique
tats: and dont throw too much away, like in fallout 3 i drank some nuka cola quantium and then it was a collectible, so, careful what you use if youre into unlocking achevements :)
tats: i mean youll probably have to throw away 1000 tin cans so
tats: just dont throw away glowing shit i guess :D
broox: do do certain perks and stats just plain suck?
tats: totally
tats: haha or yano you might not need for a long time
tats: but most are helpful
tats: like at least in fallout 3 'big guns' arent an issue until youve played a while
tats: its all small guns at first
tats: but i started a game of both fallout 1 and 2 on the pc, last year
tats: and i noticed it was the same intense beginning of stat and perk alottment
tats: like, cant i choose once i know?!?!
tats: but its fun too
tats: b/c its really customized that way
tats: and you can play thru again differently, etc
tats: i like to go for a lot of lockpick and science fast just b/c im curious what will happen
tats: or whats behind the door, etc
tats: i wonder what the mini games are like!!!!
tats: oooh
broox: so funny that you said basically this same thing:
broox: "Anything that will give you bonus stat points early on. In Fallout 3 you started out getting 15 points per level, but if you took the "Quick learner" perk early on you could end up with 21 stat points per level after level 4."
broox: via GG
tats: haha
broox: im going to jump into this. ill probably be back on to bug you guys later
tats: rad!!!
tats: go west, young man!
tats: to vegas

Generated by im2html.

Ten Minutes of Nonstop Paradise

2010-09-23T13:09:00.001-07:00

http://kotaku.com/5644075/ten-minutes-with-bioshock-infinite

SWOOON. Oh my stars I've never been so excited for a game!

bragging rights

2010-09-08T14:42:00.001-07:00

Brave New World Around the Corner

2010-08-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/24/microsoft-working-on-real-time-windows-phone-7-to-console-gaming/

I'm really looking forward to a world with realtime Mobile Multiplayer. I'd like it PSP style please, with tactile buttons instead of touchscreen.

Kane and Lynch:

2010-08-26T09:57:00.001-07:00

http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/kane--lynch-2-making-ugly-marketing-look-good/

This is a fascinating interview. I'm LOVING Kane and Lynch 2, my my my.

I Confess!

2010-08-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

I had to cop to my h/c gamer buddy last week that I've been playing nothing but nonstop FARMVILLE! Ever since they gave me a bakery I can't get enough of that damn game. I need so much money to afford an ice cream shoppe and only 5 more days until its gone! I will never enter in my CC number but damn, if I didn't have such principles. My farm has gotten TOO adorable!

Subtle Games Marketing

2010-08-08T22:12:00.001-07:00

Cooking Mama

2010-08-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

http://kotaku.com/5138566/nuka-cola-recipe-omits-rads

This is all fine and good, but once you have a taste of my Nuka Cola Pie, there will be no substitutes.

Why are Dead Men okay but Dead Women upsetting?

2010-08-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

Is it the rules of warfare at play? Or a kind of weird sexism? I'm glad guys in general don't actively want to kill me. But does that mean women 'don't count' in warfare? I assure you honey, if it's a matter of war, you will fear me.

Also it pisses me off that violence in video games is ok for men, but not women and children. Again, the ancient rules of warfare. Human life counts no matter who is getting a facefull of lead. Artists and designers and concept makers: if you don't have the balls to depict dead women and dead children, it doesn't make sense to be okay with depicting dead men. It's all dead people.

Gamazon: Dead Girls Have More Fun

I don’t think the idea of making a “dead girl” prop would ever have occurred to them.

Is that because they don’t like women? Or have some agenda to deny the existence of women? No. It’s actually because they have not even the tiniest shred of a subconscious urge to hurt a woman. Nor does it give them even the slightest pleasure to imagine a woman suffering or dying, or to envision what a dead and partially devoured woman might look like. This is not about talent, about dev time, or about sexism: it’s about a man’s own emotional limits as an artist. There are some things that just don’t necessarily make a person happy with himself after a day’s work. Fiddling with the mutilated corpses of women is high on the list.

Arkham City

2010-08-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/08/05/september-cover-revealed-batman-arkham-city.aspx

Can the Sci Fi epic "Arkham Planet" be far behind? Let's hope not! If I have to draw it myself...

This Video is Serious Business

2010-08-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Insane Console History Video 2.0

2010-08-03T10:55:00.001-07:00

Creator of Flickr creates a New Startup, makes her coworkers play Dominion

2010-07-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/07/ff_caterina_fake/all/1

Caterina Fake, Hunch’s chief product officer, instigated the weekly game night shortly after she arrived at the Internet startup in June 2008. But on this particular spring night, the whole thing threatens to fall apart. Fake has brought Dominion, a game with such byzantine rules — something to do with monarchs using gold, militias, and witchcraft to seize unclaimed land — that even the MIT-trained engineers struggle to make sense of it. Fake furrows her brow as she studies the rule book. After 20 minutes, it looks like her coworkers are ready to forget the whole thing and head home, but Fake cajoles them into staying just a little longer. “Could somebody turn this music down?” she asks, shooting a glance at the office stereo blaring Girl Talk. “I can’t concentrate.”

WUSSBAGS! Dominion is easy.

Hunch learns about its members through “Teach Hunch About You” questions. These queries can cover anything — exercise regimens, the ethics of SeaWorld, zombies — and the more of them people answer, the more complete a profile Hunch can create. (Since the site launched in June 2009, it has collected 55 million answers to these questions from its 1 million active users.) Once Hunch’s algorithm collects enough data, it can start finding surprising correlations. For instance, people who swat flies have a thing for USA Today. People who believe in alien abductions are more likely than nonbelievers to drink Pepsi. People who eat fresh fruit every day are more likely to desire Canon’s pricey EOS 7D camera. And respondents who cut their sandwiches diagonally rather than vertically are more likely to prefer men’s Ray-Ban sunglasses

This is just like OK Cupid, only with more of a product angle than a human behavior/desire angle. Also, its getting more like Artificial Intellegence ...

But Hunch is arguably the most ambitious social search service. Ultimately, it isn’t just helping people shop for cars — it is getting its users to volunteer a truly impressive amount of unique psychographic data. Just as Google built a vast index of the Web and Facebook constructed a model of our social connections, Hunch is assembling an extraordinarily rich and detailed picture of each user’s taste. From there it can claim to know or extrapolate everything that a person likes or would like. “The ultimate goal of the company is to map every person on the Internet to every object on the Internet, be that a product, a service, or a person,” Fake says.

SKYNET! SKYNETTTTTTT

The Link - Nerdcore Rap

2010-07-29T15:08:00.001-07:00

QOTD

2010-07-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

best social media stategy: be helpful. :)

- Ryan from Certainly Social

Hobby vs. Game

2010-07-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

http://blog.games.com/2010/07/29/quote-of-the-moment-my-farmville-hobby/

"I believe we can understand more about why people play games like Farmville by looking hard at stamp collections, sewing circles, and model railroads than by looking at the history of computer "games." Computer "hobby" is a better mental model."

Oh, yeah? Well, gaming is my hobby. What now???

Disney Acquires Social Gaming Company Playdom for up to $763.2 Million

2010-07-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

http://mashable.com/2010/07/27/disney-playdom/

Editors note - Social City and Sorority Life are both Facebook Games

Disney has officially acquired Playdom, the makers of popular social games like Social City and Sorority Life, for $563.2 million, with an additional $200 million that could be paid out based on performance.

...

Clearly Disney is serious about the social gaming space; the acquisition comes less than a month after the media giant acquired iPhone app development firm Tapulous. The company sees a lot of synergies between its new social gaming properties and its highly visible brands. “We see strong growth potential in bringing together Playdom’s talented team and capabilities with our great creative properties, people and world-renowned brands like Disney, ABC, ESPN and Marvel,” said Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger in a statement.

Google Talking to Game Devs about Creating Facebook Competitor

2010-07-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29638/Google_Talking_To_Game_Devs_About_Creating_Facebook_Competitor.php

If Google launches the reported games-friendly social network, it would find itself in direct competition with Facebook, which is home to the leading social network games. A successful Google social network could also give game developers another viable platform to reach the millions of "social" gamers who spend real-world cash on virtual items.

Mwahahaha! Compete, my pretties! Compete, and innovate!

FrontierVille!

2010-07-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

My latest addiction is a Facebook Game called Frontierville. It's like Farmville only cuter, faster, more pavlovian. The rewards for my patient clicking come more quickly and do-able tasks pop up one after another, letting me know once again I have done a good job providing for my family on the Frontier. I beleive it was a psychologyofgames.com article that discussed how if we got that kind of guaranteed gratification in life, we wouldn't be playing Farmville so much. I can't wait for the day that shiny .gifs saying "Well Done! Ten Points and a Pig!" come exploding out of my screen when I finish a big spreadsheet.

Online, Mobile Games to Surpass Console Games in 5 Years, says Analyst

2010-07-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Pretty interesting read, no matter what you think will happen. Myself, I'm saving up for an Alienware Laptop. But I won't lose my XBox until they have PC Gamer Points with the same amount of street cred!

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/online-mobile-games-to-surpass-console-games-in-5-years-says-analyst/

“The video games industry is big, getting bigger and changing, with console game costs, revenue and risks accelerating and online/mobile games growing and fragmenting the market. Investment dynamics are entering a new phase, with growth investment opportunities in online and mobile games, as pure console sector growth is flat (and risky). Today online/mobile games generate around 1/3 of all games software revenues globally. In 5 years time they are forecast to generate 50% of all games software revenue, or around 1/5 more revenue than pure console games! Whether you have faith in the forecasts or not, CEOs and senior execs from the major US, European and Asian publishers all tell me that this is what keeps them awake at night," Merel commented.

This really might be the greatest trailer in the universe

2010-07-26T16:57:00.001-07:00

http://www.destructoid.com/z-h-p-trailer-might-be-greatest-trailer-in-the-universe-179154.phtml

Team Fortress 2 Meet the Spy Trailer - Worth a watch!

2010-07-25T22:13:00.001-07:00

I know it's old but it's new to me...hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnuYi-nzE90

Space Invader Street Art Attacks San Diego

2010-07-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/07/space-invaders-san-diego/

awww, sweet

2010-07-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show

2010-06-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to the NW Pinball adn Gameroom show in the Seattle Center. Wow, what an amazing time. Emulators cannot capture the magic of the black box surrounding your face as you stare into laser lights reflecting off your face. You grasp the wheel, steering wheel, rollerball, stick, or trigger, press the button and get ready for the fight!!

photos of the games here!

The Game of Life

2010-06-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

In honor of summer I've been doing less video gaming and more IRL gaming. This week I played dominion with Ben (the board game poster on this blog) and Micah, which was great! Very fun card game with a flexible system, so you can design each game for how many players and their skill levels.

A few weeks ago I went to a baby shower in Portland and played the card game Fluxx and the board/card game Cosmic Encounter, both of which were super fun, hopefully I will talk more in depth about them at a later point.

The main swing of my post is, Golf! I've never been a very sporty person in IRL, the highlight of my bench-warming, team-letting-down career was being asked to please just 'pass on the ball' in my college pickup soccer team. But golf is much more my speed, and my friends were much more encouraging than most schoolmates had been. We played 9 holes and by the end of the game I got a really awesome stroke in, that lobbed the ball all the way to the intended green. YESSS, and what a wonderful, lesiurely yet healthy way to spend a sunny or semi-sunny day.

Golf photos

Dominion Photos

Cosmic Encounter Photos

2010-06-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

"Red Dead Redemption has the Production Quality of an HBO Show"

2010-06-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Said my friend Eric, who is a video game producer, to me today, about 25 minutes after he put in his new disc.

My friend Titus posted this to FB:

Red Dead Redemption is the pinnacle of all humanity's achievements.

When he posted that, I found his statement to be a bit over the top, but. After watching the beginning of the game again with Eric, I realized I had dismissed the production at the beginning of the game as a Deadwood knock off...but it IS A VIDEO GAME. It can shamelessly knock off a TV show because it's a different art form.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1756-Alan-Wake

Here he goes off about the shamelessness of Stephen King worshipping...again I say to you, it is A VIDEO GAME. Since when are ANY writers worshipped in console games? That used to be territory exclusively for Casual Games' Agatha Christie Mysteries. As my friend Craig teased me for not being a TRUE Alan Wake fan as I keep waffling between it and RDR, I realized he and I both have the longterm fantasy of being famous writers - now thats some roleplaying I can get behind.

Real Games

2010-06-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

I think I'll start calling posts about Board and Card games "Real Games."

New games recently (several unplayed, as I've not had any chance to play them recently - too busy with life.

Two player game kick. One of my pet peeves is games designed for more players that claim to be playable with two. So often these games work so poorly with two players, that they ruin the game for me once I've played them too frequently with only one opponent.

Jaipur - Buy it here
Bought on a whim (and a quick check to BGG from my phone) and not regretted at all. Reviews are accurate - this is a beautiful game with quality components. Quick to pick up and play, and with a good amount of strategy. It is a basic race-for-resources game, with 'utility resource' component - a resource that needs to be used during the game to get other resources, but is itself worthless at end game.

Dungeon Twister 2 Prison - Buy it here
I couldn't resist. An old-school dungeon crawl with solo play option. Good looking figures (once un-twisted in boiling water), cool board and mechanics. Reserving a review until I play it more.

Mr. Jack - Buy it here
A nicely themed logic puzzle. Once player plays Jack the Ripper (the game is illustrated in an almost comic style, and I don't have any reservations playing it with kids - they are unlikely to ask about Jack), and the other plays the "investigator." Characters are placed on a board with gaslights, and each player gets to move various numbers of characters around each turn. At the beginning of the game, one character is randomly selected to be Jack the Ripper. At the end of each turn, if Jack is by a gaslight, or near another character, he becomes "seen" and is otherwise in shadows. Using this mechanic and manipulating character movement, the investigator's job is to build a logic table of characters and eliminate each until Jack is found. Jack is trying to hide, and escape out one corner of the board or the other. I think this has potential to be a better Clue, and good for the family and kids.

Roll Through the Ages - Buy it here
Ah, another Matt Leacock (of Pandemic fame) game! Not strictly a two player game (1-4), think of this as Civilization with dice. Each turn you roll a number of special dice that grows as your civilization grows. The dice provide you with goods, food, people, or badness. Avoid badness, gather enough food to feed your people, enough people to build your civilization, and enough goods to sell for technological and social developments. Nice wooden components (dice and goods pegboard for each player) and easy to play out in the world. There is already a free print-and-play expansion on Mr. Leacock's website.

2010-06-09T08:23:00.001-07:00

2010-06-02T15:05:00.001-07:00

And the Shadows Keep on Changing

2010-05-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Alan Wake. I not only love it but after someone flipped me some grief for loving it so much, now I feel the need to champion it.

What inspired me to take a break from playing and post about it is the innovative "hold b to change flashlight types" instead of the typical FPS style "press b" which makes you change weapons/flashlight types, even when you're just trying to pick up the treasure around it. This way it's much harder to make a mistake. Good user design.

It's that kind of attention to detail in Alan Wake that keeps me coming back like a rabid dog. Don't get me started on the soundtrack, or the lighting and its use as a narrative device, or the amazing dappling shadows.

People in the industry are rolling their eyes at how long it took to make. It doesn't seem like they were goofing off in those 5 years - this is one solid game and I highly recommend it, even to people who aren't that into console or video games, but like mystery or quality intuitive, interactive experiences.

"The Industry Thinks We're All 17-Year-Old Douchebags"

2010-05-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.cracked.com/article_18571_5-reasons-its-still-not-cool-to-admit-youre-gamer.html

"Such power!"
"If it's this good watching, just imagine!"
"Is he going to...."
"By the gods!"

Thanks Cam!

2010-05-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.uploderx.net/dphrag/6b1d3df8ce8d02b2328.jpg

A Short History Of Gay In Video Games

2010-05-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

Field Guide to Fanboys

2010-05-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

http://flowingdata.com/2010/05/13/field-guide-to-fanboys/

Ways that My Job is Like a JRPG

2010-05-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

2010-05-04T23:52:00.001-07:00

What I'm Playing

2010-04-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

Assassins Creed 2! It has stolen my heart and mind. As talking heads float in front of me IRL, I'm dreaming about running along the rooftops, so realistically, athletically, and fearlessly (but with a good deal of skill and attention required) that I feel like I'm flying. I love love love this game, it might be my new favorite game but I refuse to make such a dramatic statement impulsively.

L4D2 DLC - FUN FUN! No different than the rest of L4D2, except, a few more minutes of unplayed fun!

Splinter Cell Conviction - YES YES Yall! This game is awesome and the 2 player is SO fun. More on this in the Podcast.

FUN WHEEEEEE!
http://games.adultswim.com/robot-unicorn-attack-twitchy-online-game.html

Family games update

2010-04-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last family boardgame posting; we have been playing games, I've just been bad at posting about them!

Castle Panic has had a few sessions, and I'm really enjoying it. It is another cooperative boardgame (which I find my 6 year old really enjoys - Pandemic being the current cooperative king), but the theme evokes some of the crazy dungeon hack-and-slash games I used to play.

Basically, you all play cards from your hand to stop a horde of monsters from attacking your castle in the middle of the gameboard. The monsters comes from all sides, and have various strengths. Once a monster reaches the castle itself, it becomes MUCH more difficult to stop them, and they slowly destroy the castle.

It seems easier to win than Pandemic (that's not saying much - it took us, I think, 8 plays before we won our first session of Pandemic, and that was with only 3 Epidemic card, IIRC). And I like the art.

We have also played one session of Harry Potter Clue. The theme is nicely done, they have added some new mechanics like moving secret passages, doors that lock and unlock on their own, and an attack/defense system with additional cards. But in the end, it is still Clue. If you like that sort of thing. Too much luck for our family right now.

I try to have a 'coming next' part of each post, but I'm not too sure what our next family game will be. I'm intrigued by Kill Doctor Lucky (inverted Clue), Mr. Jack (similar to Scotland Yard, but two-player), and Smallworld. Don't what will be next.

Boardgames this week

2010-04-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've started playing boardgames again, semi-regularly, with a friend or two about once every two or three weeks. We've already tried a bunch of new games.

Last Wednesday we played a session of Red November (Play This Thing! review here). In Red November, you take the roles of up to 8 Gnomes in a Gnomish submarine where everything has gone terribly, horribly, wrong. Your only hope is to stave off complete destruction until help can arrive and you are rescued.

The game claims to be for 3-8 players, but the BGG page says 1-8, and I can see how that would work. It is a cooperative game, so solo you would take control of several Gnomes trying to save the sub. However, this didn't occur to me when we played, so the two of us just each took one Gnome, and the gameplay was stilted and uneven. Next time we'll each take more than one Gnome, or we'll only play with more people. I would dearly love to play an 8-player session! It would be a chaotic, tense (no downtime, due to the cooperative nature of the game), groggy, smokey, wet, noisy, crazy mad scramble!

After one session of Red November, we played an uncounted number of 2-player Dominion games. With two of us very familiar with the cards and mechanics, the sessions went very quickly. We've graduated to "level 2" play of Dominion (according to this thread). Level 3 can't be far off now! The trick is going to be trying to introduce new players into the mix. For those that don't play Dominion, the initial play is very fun and enjoyable. However, there is a strategy that generally works in most games, so once a player hits on that strategy, they become very very hard to beat, and the games become less fun. Once every player adopts that strategy, then the game becomes fun again because you now have to focus on not dropping that strategy (hard to do), and finding the quirks in that session's card mix that will give you the edge.

Very much looking forward to Race for the Galaxy next time!

What I'm Playing

2010-04-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

This week I pretty much spent money I shouldn't have but these games were all SUCH BARGAINS!

I've been playing:

Dark Sector - this game is hard, but I have my glaive now at least. I should switch to 'easy' but my pride keeps saying, 'wait a little bit longer...' It's a gorgeous game and worth spending some effort getting through.

Dead Space - *wild applause* see FOGcast 006 for details.

Assassins Creed 2 - so hard! I can't get past the darn roof races! I think I'm on medium, and should kick it down a notch... for the acrobatics section, at least.

Star Ocean - not sure about this one yet...I just started though.

Velvet Assassin - /sings "I enjoy being a girl..." I LOVE playig a girl! A stealth assassin girl! Boosh!

aand, The Darkness - starring MIKE PATTON as the darkness! Oh this is a dark and fun game. Dual pistols and tentacle creatures wrapped around you that eat men's hearts. Yes!

Feel free to add me, username: RupeeGroupie

Stop. GamerTime!

2010-04-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

My friend, associate, and fellow FOGcaster Greg and I went to the store GamerTime yesterday, in Mill Creek, WA, on the way to repair 3 XBoxes ;)

What an AWESOME store! Games, comics about games, books about games, periodicals about games, walls and walls of cheap used games. I picked up "The Darkness" and "Dark Sector" for XBox (which now works thank yew).

Heyo!

Whazzagoinon

Sweeeet

If you're in the north-of-Seattle area, go check them out! You will probably walk away with more than a few things.

Oh My!

2010-04-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

http://blog.games.com/2010/04/15/memoirs-of-a-pet-society-geisha/

After a grueling few hours getting her hair molded with hot wax, Gretchen returns to her okiya for a quick snack before a lunchtime appointment. No sashimi for you today, Kitty!

Gamepocalypse Now

2010-04-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

Rad rad, remember Jesse Schell's super thought provoking DICE 2010 Talk? In case you don't, check it out, it's awesome.

Now he's blogging about all the ways that games are part of every day life and compelling us to change our behavior while we're having fun:

http://gamepocalypsenow.blogspot.com/

I like this guy, he's pretty interesting. He's been a professional juggler, a Disney Imagineer, and a Carnegie Mellon professor. He has an interview in Game Informer magazine this month:

Well, it's kind of like George Orwell. But it's really more like Aldous Huxley and Brave New World. Orwell thought a cruel government would enslave its populace. But this isn't about the government. Huxley's premise was that we we'd be enslaved by entertainment. Entertainment would be so interesting and so compelling that we wouldn't think about anything important, and it would be corporations taking advantage of us.

What you give your attention to determines who you are; it determines who we are as humanity. It's a very meaningful question.

More Sakuracon Amazement

2010-04-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

I'll step off my hatebox for a moment to appreciate the amazing beauty of the cosplay at Sakuracon this year! Thank you Cliff Nordman for the art.

Social Games Hall of Shame

2010-04-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

Oh Facebook Social Games, how you thrill me with your adorable graphics and instant gratification. And yet, your ads literally have NO SHAME. Maybe thats part of what I love about you, yes I suppose it is.

Now lets bring out the feminism constestants:

Do you "Like" this ad?

Thumbs up, they have nailed women's marketing on the head.

FINALLY SOMEONE HAS SEEN TO MY NEEDS, THESE AWFUL TINY wait, what?

This next iPhone Game one for Word-Fu is actually pretty good, heck it worked on me. But again, no shame. Really, my HONOR is at stake if I don't play this game? Harsh Realm.

Propaganda Posters for Arcade Games

2010-04-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

http://superpunch.blogspot.com/2010/04/propaganda-posters-for-video-games-and.html

Spylights for Children :D

2010-04-12T15:00:00.001-07:00

2010-04-07T23:09:00.001-07:00

THE PINK FUR IS FLYING

2010-04-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Someone needs an IRL Referee Cow!

http://www.destructoid.com/don-t-fear-the-farmville-170067.phtml

Somewhere deep in the subterranean depths of the Farmville stronghold, a dark and forbidden ritual is taking place at this very moment. The game's creators, clad in jet black robes, stand in a circle in the server room, chanting gutturally in unison. The focus of their eldritch magicks is an obelisk of pure obsidian in the center of the room, pulsating with a menacing aura of madness and depravity.

Pretty Much!

2010-04-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

http://xkcd.com/724/ Must click link for roll-over!

Clash of the Cons

2010-04-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

This morning on the bus I overheard pretty interesting conversation for a con lover of all things alike.

Norwescon happened this weekend, the same weekend as Sakuracon. The attendee said Norwescon lost most of their vendors to Sakuracon, and attendance flagged. Sakuracon is younger, hipper, and has more expendable cash, no vendor could resist. The other woman quizzed if the competeing dates were on purpose, and the Norwescon attendee said no, that Norwescon happens on Easter weekend of every year, and Sakuracon happens whenever the convention center has an opening, as they book about a year in advance.

Edit: I've since found out this wasn't the case, that Norwescon had a boatload of attendees and vendors as always, and gathers young and old alike, as always. Whew!

On the Sakuracon note, I leave you with the mind-blowing pictures from Sakuracon by Cliff Nordman, a photographer I noticed for his amazing ECCC photography.

Shoutout to my tweeps

2010-04-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

I rely heavily on some twitters for my gamer news. Who are they, you ask?

http://twitter.com/BreakingGaming
just started following me and looks quite promising. "Tweeting only 10/10 ranked news." Whatever that means, it sounds elite.

http://twitter.com/courtines
Community Manager at games.com, insightful and on the scene.

http://twitter.com/VideoGameFeed
The ONLY video game feed you will ever need. KOTAKU - JOYSTIQ - IGN - GAMESPOT - ARS TECHNICA

http://twitter.com/mashable
The hottest Twitter news, Twitter tips and Twitter help.
OMG TWITTER IS COLLAPSING IN ON ITSELF ITS A TWITTER HOLE!

Penny Arcade (by Kate Beaton)

2010-04-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Oh Snap guest spot by my favorite artist Kate Beaton! HUZZAH!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/4/05/

What I've Been Playing

2010-04-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

I've been video gaming a lot of variety recently. To hear my thoughts on these games, tune into the podcast or just ask and I will pontificate away.

On XBox:
Final Fantasy XIII (RPG)
Dead Space (FPS)
Dragon Age Origins: Awakenings (RPG)

On iPhone:
Inotia 2 (RPG)
Zenonia 2 (RPG)
Zombie Farm (social)
We Rule (social)
Words With Friends (social)

On Facebook (browser)
Farmville (social)
Restaurant City (social)

What I want to play (XBox):
Mass Effect 2
Force Unleashed
Dark Sector
The Darkness
Final Fantasy VII
*Bayonetta
*Devil May Cry 4

*trial basis ;)

With iPhone and Facebook, there is no 'want to play' there is only buy/play!

Video Game Review in Comic Form

2010-04-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

I hope to start doing more comic reviews of games. It felt good to pour out my deep frustration and anger at FFXIII into permenant ink :) Peep it at http://www.fansofgames.com/ (scroll down)!

It all makes perfect sense!

2010-04-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

kekeke

2010-04-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

OMG it is so on. Thank you Farmville for kickstarting April Fools!

I was like "OK OMG WTF" when I first saw this pop up:

I was thinking, is Farmville really going THERE now? Would I continue to use it if it did? Of course, but luckily I was not thrown into a moral quandry as it was just an awesome April Fools Day prank. Boosh!

App Store Frenzy!

2010-03-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

I'm totally cheap, especially when it comes to the app store. Why buy when you can get the knock-off for free? But tomorrow I'm flying across the country (gulp) with a layover (groan) so I'm downloading every RPG that catches my fancy for my iPhone. I spent about $30.

Expect reviews next week of:
Final Fantasy 1
Inotia 2: A Wanderer of Luone
HYBRID: Eternal Whisper
Blade Madster: prelude to destruction demo
Song Summoner demo
(fighting game) Ninja Assassin

I'm so excited! i hate FPS on iPhone which is the only games I've payed for so far, and I felt gyped. But I dont need 50 buttons and a thumbstick for an RPG, gosh! Thats mostly menu systems and directional movement. It never occured to me until today when I was looking into Inotia that I could RPG out, from the sky!

BUY THIS GAME OR THE PUPPY GETS IT!111

2010-03-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

yes

2010-03-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

Dreams of Future Past

2010-03-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

Remember Dreamcast? I was reminiscing about Shenmue today and came across this discussion online about it.

http://games.ign.com/articles/102/1023747p1.html

it's the mundane moments that gave Shenmue its poetry, whether it was an early morning stroll to Dobuita's arcade or an afternoon wasted on the streets of Hong Kong manning a Lucky Strike store.

I dug it, but it was one of the first keep-asking-townsfolk-until-you-unlock-the-next-bit games I played, and I enjoy that dynamic although I didn't unlock a ton of the game. Also it was a realtime game years before Animal Crossing. I found it compelling. I wasn't expecting a point, just wandering around going, ooh.

Clay felt more the way about it that IGN does, he was excited for its potential and let down by the lack of point or action in the game.

Regardless it has me remembering that Sony was once totally awesome. I am coming around to the fact I may have to cough up some money for a PS3 at some point but I honestly don't know where I'd put it in this giant pile of games and consoles :b

No Pun Intended?

2010-03-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

How Not To Market to Girl Gamers as seen in Game Informer Magazine :b

Thank you

2010-03-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_235/6978-Vaginophobia

According to the ESA, 40% of people playing games are women. There are almost twice as many women over the age of eighteen who play games than there are boys under the age of seventeen. And yet only one in every ten game developers is a woman, while the ranks of videogame journalists skew heavily male, as does the audience that reads their work.

That's what keeps eating at me, especially at coventions like Casual Connect, where hundreds of males gather to figure out What Women Want. Come on people, just pay a woman for her opinion already. Do some A/B testing and some dialogue. Pay some average ladies to hang out (booth babes don't count!) and my guess is it will look more female-friendly and a few more will start hanging out for free.

It is like pulling teeth around here.

Of course there's a second question which is, why do we have to pay women to hang out when there are thousands of dudes willing to stab someone for the chance. Why do women shy away from game development when these positions are held in the greatest esteem by fans worldwide? I'm getting into it with some friends of mine and may post more soon.

Game Developers Lose Their Shit Over Zynga

2010-03-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27754/Opinion_Fear_and_Loathing_in_Farmville.php

Really? You think it's just now getting to be about money over the joy of the game? REALLY????

Sigh, must be nice.

Wow

2010-03-21T03:17:00.000-07:00

Goodbye World

2010-03-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I just got "Dragon Age Origins: Awakenings!!!"

Should I play Cobweb, my awesome dwarf I played through the first DAO that couldn't get laid by anyone but the milquetoast healer? Or try for a human woman who I hear gets the most action? I know, you say, that shouldn't matter, but hey I want to feel like my character is at least as good at getting play as my friends characters. Another problem I had was that I gave all my gifts away early to the wrong people...this time I'm saving them for the ladies/fellows.

So yeah, I think I'm gonna port in Cobweb but try a human character too, anyways if I play on my new HD with a new character I keep all the Gamer Points ;) WHEEEE MOAR DRAGONAGE!

Pipin' Hot New Podcast - Get it while it's Fresh!

2010-03-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

FOGcast episode: 003 is live! Get yours at http://fogcast.libsyn.com/ or subscribe for free on iTunes at http://bit.ly/fogcast

Oh yeah! This FOGcast is all about games slated to drop in 2010! Join Tatiana, Brooks, Ed & Greg as they look towards the future to try and see how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop.

The Zen of Farmville - Your Electric Bonsai

2010-03-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

My buddy Ed sent me a link to a funny Kotaku Article about Farmville...it made me laugh, especially the author's description of his farm being a 'pathetic fallacy' (Much like growing plants, it takes a few months to get pimpin...you must bend like the Tall Grass...). Also, until today I'd never read the 'rules' to Farmville, much less the Zynga-reccomended Way.

Well I was aghast. If you play the way the rules would follow to the end of a singular logic chain, I guess you would just want more money and a bigger farm. But that would be the lamest game ever! Gah! No wonder people who are used to the logical rules of a traditional video game don't like it. This is a free for all.

Check out my farm, yo. It's my little country home away from home. I have a ton of decor in storage or sold away because I'm very picky. I also have far less plowed area than I could, because jesus who has time for that? I'd rather jump in my hot rod tractor and plow some corn quickly, then get back to treasure inventory and management. You'll note my gorgeous pink-themed topiary garden, just like the topiary garden I've always dreamed of playing in in real life (probably watched The Shining too often).

You want to keep a Farm that you WANT to come back to every day - a self-sustaining fun farm, not another job. A few weeks back I sold off each but three or four of every tree and animal I had (save for single clicks like my dairy full of cows). Do feel free to run through my topiary maze, I even have a snow blanket I can put over everything to make it more Shining-Like.

Survival of the Fittest

2010-03-17T23:58:00.000-07:00

I run a lean, sleek social games bookmark folder. Gone are the days when I dallied with fish, ranches, and flowers - bah! Many of those games quickly run out of rewards or interest within a matter of days or weeks, including many previously touted titles. Here's what's survived all these months...what I would reccomend to you today.

Restaurant Ciitay! (does Restaurant City song & dance) I love this game! My magical restaurant is more mind bogglingly awesome than ever, I've got a love potion, bacon orb and rainbow soup on my menu, I'm starting to reach a good propulsion of levelling up since (glory be!) they made the game easier (more possible to get inredients/'money' for free).

Ponzi just barrrrely made this list! They have failed me. Every time I try to log in I have to replay all my actions over and over and it never saves my play. Argh, damn you Ponzi! But I recently saw an update on FB that said they'd upgraded their servers sooo, I'm willing to try again.

SuperPocus! Oh I bought some Mushroom Shelves for my cauldrons yesterday, they're delightful. Everything in this game makes me squee with glee. I could use more 'friends' for earning money but I kind of like being a lone kitttah magician going to spell university.

Fairyland is still pretty cute b/c the flowers turn into musical notes or something totally WTF funny. Same with Enchanted Island.

Cafe World is really hanging in there with its click-fun food action. The food is amusing and delicious looking and the game is very easy to maintain dropping in every few days.

Country Story rocks! Now that they've made it easier I can grow tree spirits and use them to buy gorgeous awesome magical trees. Man if only they'd let ME make a social game...there would be so many magic trees!

I broke down and added four more strangers to my FB so I could go to the next area of 'The Summoning' as all 500 something of my 'friends' refuse to play that game despite my repetitve begging. FINE. The good news is, people who are so h/c that they will post on the very public Summoning feed "ADD ME joesmith@yahoo.com" (I actually tend to only add girls, I guess I feel safer) tend to play a LOT of other social games. Bam, a new 'friend' in 5 other games too!

Country Story and Sky City are the two most bass-ackwards farm games you could imagine, and yet the higher levels involve buying factories to process the vegetables you grow. This extra level of captialism totally keeps me coming back.

Speaking of Farms, I'm still digging Farmville - ingenius ways to continuously make you NEED gifts or else spend your real money. I saw one of my new Summoning 'friends' BEGGING in my FB Friends Feed for clinging vines and roof tiles so she could finish her Farmville Mansion. Okay she was bargaining, or a bit of both. I didn't send her anything b/c I'm too lazy to send gifts these days...but if she was some old buddy I loved I probably would have heeded her plea.

Why, WiiWare, Why?

2010-03-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

It could be SO CUTE. It could be slathered in goombas. But no, instead when we dusted off ye olde Wii to play No More Heroes 2, and we jumped on to WiiWare (Wii's online content space for DS Downloads, Demos, Wii Downloads, etc) eagerly awaiting a dynamic, possibly adorable, certainly at least Wii-level interface, we were sorely dissapointed. It's nigh impossible to navigate and the interface looks like horrific state of boring cooked up in the movie "Berlin." Seriously Wii, you can't update your online interface to something other than 2001's Photoshop Hit Effect AQUA? I know it's hard to have the interface backup of Microsoft or Sony, but oh wait no it's not...you're Nintendo, you've been rocking interfaces for years. The Wii itself has a delightful interface but their dynamic online content is totally neglected/outdated? Lame! Who went on vacation and never came back?

The thrilling news was I could buy Final Fantasy IV (II in the US, IV in Japan) The Later Years - a sequel with the most famous FF characters of all time, and the graphics are SuperNES graphics. I'm downloading it now...I'll let you know more soon! (I never played FF IV, but I always wondered...now I see it looks pretty awesome!)

But then the tragic twist is that when purchasing time came, the 'cancel' button came on the final page exactly where there 'ok' button was the past 10 screens. Needless to say we prevailed and soon I'll be double fisting Final Fantasy (I'm playing FF XIII for XBox 360 right now, but you'll have to listen to next weeks podcast if you want to know what I think!)

Into Every Gamers Life a Little Dice Must Fall

2010-03-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

A Little Bioshock Humor

2010-03-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

From the April Fool's "GameInformer" magazine insert.

While we're at it, this song came on our XBox while I was playing Bioshock 2. Why didn't they have this in the Soundtrack?

What Greg Said

2010-03-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

fansofgames tweeted: Guess What? New #FOGcast! Snag your copy before they're gone... http://fogcast.libsyn.com/ or #iTunes subscribers: http://bit.ly/fogcast

Yeah! This episode is extra kickass because we are getting into the groove. Also the 4 of us are playing L4D2 on XBLA and forming a tighter team. Who says you can't mix business with pleasure?

Hey there! This week we talk about the new Modern Warfare between Infinity Ward & Activision, and we talk about the struggle with ZOMBIES!! Why can't they find peace & love?? How can it get any better than 4-Player L4D2 CoOp? Also, crappy DRM = UbiSoft...

While we're on the subject, two of our industry movers and shakers, Brooks and Greg, burst through the spoiler veil to bring you their uncensored thoughts on Heavy Rain. Prepare to be spoiled!

Fireside Chatcast: Episode #001 - Heavy Rain *No Holds Barred*

Attention! Spoiler Alert!! Brooks & Greg revisit Heavy Rain to discuss in depth the characters and storyline. Enjoy the first of many Fireside Chats from team FOGcast.

Ya Dominion!

2010-03-11T17:27:00.000-08:00

It is official - we have a new darling tabletop game: Dominion. We have now played 6+ games (3 player), and we are all eager to play more.

In short, it is a CCG without the collecting. In the base game you have 25 types of 'kingdom' card from which you select a set of 10. These 10 card types, along with money card, and victory card, give you 16 or 17 different types of card. There are at least 10 of each card type, giving you a 'supply' of +150 cards. You start with 10 cards (7 money and 3 victory). During play you buy more cards, and when your deck is exhausted, you recycle from your discard pile. So you build up your hand as you play.

The nice things about this are the re-playability, since you select 10 of 25 cards in each game. There are also pretty clear strategies that change from early to mid to late game. We are still coming up with both strategies and card sets.

There are several suggested card sets in the rules, and a method of randomly selecting card sets. We've also played with a card set of our own design. Lots of good possibilities in designing card sets, and theorizing on strategy.

Boardgamegeek is, as usual, completely out of control when it comes to this game. Going through the forums and files I've found iPhone apps, various other apps and utilities, as well as simulators to test card sets and play strategies. Much fun.

The only down side is that there is a lot to remember (each of the 10 kingdom cards has special rules), so it is not an appropriate game for little ones. :(

Thank god a bunch of men have figured out what I want, despite what I actually want

2010-03-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

Not to break this down into something so simple as Mars vs. Venus, buuut. I'm getting pretty annoyed at the talk I'm heaing from GDC, combined with having just read that Cracked article, about 'responsible' game design. What if I DON'T WANT to learn every second of every day? What if I want a video game where I get to unwind and drool on myself a little? Get pulled in by e-gambling where I lose nothing but my own free time?

Should games come with lowbrow-psychology warnings?

Should certain MMOs and Social Games be banned like High Fructose Corn Syrup and Heroin?

Do the industry bigwigs and (let's be realistic) big groups of men know what's best for me over my own desires? Lord knows they've always thought so!

I get so irritated when someone thinks they know what's best for me, when they have no frakking idea what I want. HIRE A BUNCH OF WOMEN, game industy, and then we'll market to OURSELVES. Computer Engineer Barbie will not be invited.

edit: talking about this rant w/ my buddy, I realize this post is guilty of reverse sexism. But for the record, now that we have tons of women playing games, I think it just makes sense that women be hired to design, illustrate, distribute and merchandise more games. I'm not asking for a complete takeover, just 50-50.

Inside The Minds Of Girl Gamers

2010-03-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

Is it my preemptive penchant for Gawker and Jezebel in particular that makes their girl-gamer articles the only ones I find enlightening istead of enraging? Regardless, this article got me thinking.

Here's just a few stats based on their study: Women play online more than men (55% vs. 45%). Women play more frequently (and differently) than men. A majority of women gamers like to play on their own (83%). Many women say they play to compete against other people (47%). They made 7 game-related buys in the past year.

They also put women into several separate categories: immersives, competitors, bonders, dabblers and minders. One web supervisor at a university, described as an "immersive," says she can "play forever" and likes games like Left 4 Dead and God of War. Other women gamers, like bonders, love getting physical when gaming, and see it as a great way to connect with their family.

http://jezebel.com/5490199/inside-the-minds-of-girl-gamers

the cute has gone completely out of control

2010-03-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

http://kotaku.com/5489123/adorable-voltron-try-adorable-predator-bumblebee-yoshimitsu/gallery/

So, who's down for maladjusting their children??? I will help sew!

Mining for Mind Diamonds

2010-03-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

Super thought provoking article. As a lifetime hoarder and collector of shiny things, I keep thinking, "But I want to be played!" Then again, maybe MMOs are sneakier than Facebook, who hits you with a marketing 2x4 of BUY THIS GAME OR THE PUPPY GETS IT!

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

People scoff at this idea all the time ("You spent all that time working for a sword that doesn't even exist?") and those people are stupid. If it takes time, effort and skill to obtain an item, that item has value, whether it's made of diamonds, binary code or beef jerky.

This is what most of us don't get in everyday life--quick, tangible rewards. It's less about instant gratification and more about a freaking sense of accomplishment. How much harder would we work at the office if we got this, and could measure our progress toward it? And if the light shot from our crotch?

Hey iPhoners!

2010-03-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

Or, iTuners, I should say!
Don't take my word for it, listen to our 'Fans of Games' podcast at the OFFICIAL ITUNES STORE! bit.ly/fogcast

LOL PWND

2010-03-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

Check out my new "Smoochify Hex" I used on my buddy in the FB Social Game, "SuperPocus." I am laughed so hard!

Fans of Games Podcast (FOGcast) - Episode 001

2010-03-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

FOGcast: Episode #001 - Heavy Rain, Decisions in Games, Toubles with Trades, and DICE in a Nut Schell
Join Tatiana, Brooks and Greg w/ special guest Ed, as they discuss Heavy Rain for the PS3 and the impact of decision making. Also, they cover how publishers are trying to keep games in your hands and the future of toothpaste as foretold at the DICE Conference. Please check out this weeks FOGcast at bit.ly/fogcast or search for 'fans of games' on iTunes.

FOGcast bit.ly/fogcast

Facebook FOG page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fans-of-Games/354720476809?ref=nf

FOG on Twitter http://twitter.com/fansofgames

2010-03-04T16:30:00.001-08:00

Polar Bear Payback

2010-03-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Polar Bear Payback - Free Online Game From Adult Swim
You're a polar bear out to stop global warming through mutilation.

Check out this sweet game my friend Eric Leuschner produced. Don't forget to share it and rate it highly ;) Then play the game some more because it's awesome!

pictures for sad children

2010-03-03T23:48:00.000-08:00

Well all I wanna do right now is gush about Left4Dead 2, but that's all podcast fodder. Instead I will leave you with this fine comic my brother linked me to:

http://www.picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=315

awwwwwww!

FOGcast - new Podcast!

2010-03-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

FOGcast: Episode #000 - Pilotcast featuring BioShock 2 & Resident Evil 5 DLC 'Lost in Nightmares'

Join Tatiana, Brooks & Greg as they discuss bit.ly/fogcast BioShock 2 & Resident Evil 5 'Lost in Nightmares'. Beware this episode contains spoilers for BioShock 2 towards the end of the podcast.

Farmville Game Bar

2010-03-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

Now this is pure frakking genius.

It's also the beginning of the end. Will Zynga be our new Google? I for one welcome our casual game overlords.

SuperPocus

2010-03-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

Oh no a new game has me hooked! This one is pretty slow to load, but oh my, THE CUTE!!! Superpocus is TOO adorable, you are a cute lil animal learning spells, hexes, charms, etc. You cook in your cauldron and visit friends to curse or charm them - curses include giving them a moustache and making them moonwalk. In the clothing store I bought my kitty a mushroom wand and mushroom deelyboppers.

I die of cuuute! Come be my friend!!

Dante's Inferno

2010-03-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

I didn't get too far in this game yet but I like it so far...it reminded me a lot of the Devil May Cry series. The faster you mash your buttons (admittedly I was on easy) the faster you can brutally slay people with your awesome, heavy metal weapons and powers as you plummet through the levels of hell looking for your whiny girlfriend.

In fact it occured to me as I played that THIS is was Brutal Legend wished it was - the REAL heavy metal album cover. This is the Sabbath to Brutal Legend's Spinal Tap. They're both great, but come on...one is SERIOUS BUSINESS!

It's no secret

2010-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

That I really, really love Restaurant City, probably my most often played FB Social Game - certainly the one that gives me the highest satisfaction levels.

Imagine my delight to discover they've tweaked some of the annoying parts of the game, are now giving away more free 'money,' and are polling players for input - hence more upgrades.

Is WOW like this? What about other online games? Or is this unique to social games, the constant feedback and changing of gameplay per consumer opinion?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7DKN2GL

Playing with the Queen flickr Pool

2010-02-24T23:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/groups/playingwiththequeen/pool/

For those who read this blog via tumblr or buzz, you may not know we have an awesome flickr pool full of gameventures and gamecitement. Do join us there, check out some photos and add your own!

PvZ - the music video

2010-02-24T15:58:00.001-08:00

eee!