
I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.
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Speedrunner Rydou has just beaten the record for Fallout 3 with an impressive 14 minutes and 54 seconds. Rydou uses clipping as well as triggering certain events in order to achieve the final ending. I wonder how much more this can be optimized? Currently Fallout 4 speedruns are a couple hours, I wonder how that will look after people have been running it for a few years?

If people are handing out awards for the laziest post titles, i'd put "A Few Things I Liked In 2015" up for nomination. I wanted to make it "Things I Just Couldn't Even In 2015" but you know, I couldn’t even.
This post is a wrap up of a few things I enjoyed in 2015. It's not an exhaustive list but I am sure I am saying that so you don't judge me for only putting popular stuff on this list. You know, so if someone is all like "hey man why is this list Star Wars The Force Awakens" 20 times I can say "it's not meant to be exhaustive.”
The following lists aren't in any sorted order unless otherwise noted. This list is of things I experienced in 2015 not just stuff that was launched in 2015.
Hearthstone is the game of the year hands down no exception, no tag backs and no reverses. For me right now it's the perfect game. Every day I get a new quest where I can grind for gold. The dailies vary enough to be interesting and if I save 700 gold I can unlock a new Adventure tier. With each adventure tier you get new and interesting cards that can change your decks and how you play the game. When you unlock all the adventures you can open packs that also add and change how you play the game. Hearthstone has a few classes and each class combined with deck builds make for a wide arena to play in. Tavern Brawls mix the core game mechanics up in interesting ways and since it's such a popular game there is always someone to play with and I win enough to make the game fun and enjoyable.
I have acquired enough cards to make some interesting decks and as mentioned before my win ratio is high enough that the game is still lots of fun. I am not the greatest Hearthstone player and don't care to be but it's nice to improve my game over time. Hearthstone fits well in a world where you have little time because each match is only a few minutes long. I am not sure how long I will keep playing it but hands down in 2015 Hearthstone was my game of the year. I hope Blizzard keeps bringing the awesome because it's a great game and keeps getting better.
To date I've spend $0 in game. It's a nice achievement and I wonder how far I can climb ladder this way?
Terraria
The 1.3 update was great and my only real complaint was I didn't get to play it more. It seems they have finally "finished" Terraria in the we have a proper endgame but even with that they released the Mac and Linux ports and I’ve heard about future updates as well. It's a game I plan on playing in bursts every year and that’s pretty incredible considering I purchased it in a sale for $3.
Fallout 4
It's what everyone says it is unless someone says it's a bad game. I've recently stopped playing it for nearly no reason but each time I come back it's a solid experience. Bethesda did a great job here and the massive sales show that people are still interested in this franchise. I didn't get the DLC pack and don't plan to until I am completed with enough of the main game to warrant it. If you have the PC or console horsepower it's well worth a shot.
Broken Age
I bought Broken Age+Double Fine Adventure doc series in a slacker backer bundle and decided to play Broken Age when the whole game was released. Even though I looked how to complete most of the endgame puzzles(they are really hard in ways I don't want to spend time on) the games journey and story were very rewarding. The Double Fine Adventure doc series was similarly great and to a point was more enjoyable than the game itself. Double Fine has garnered some displeasure from the gaming crowd and whereas I understand the criticism I'm not sure I find the immense negativity to be warranted. Not a mega fan by any stretch but I enjoyed this game and the doc series that came from it.
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void
This was a great ending to the Starcraft II trilogy. Not sure much more needs to be said here, if you love those games check it out.
Movies:
The Babadook is a really unique film about grief and things that we can’t seem to shake. What they accomplished with such a small budget is remarkable and considering this the first film of Jennifer Kent even more so.
Faults is a strangely compelling film about cults. The first few minutes are a mixture of hypnotizing and cringeworthy mixed in such a way I couldn’t stop watching. It’s got a fun twist and showcases well how creative independent movies can be.
Beasts of No Nation is a Netflix original movie that is one of the most beautifully shot films i’ve seen all year. Beats is a movie about child soldiers and as such is a very emotional journey. Super happy to see such a high quality movie be released by Netflix after The Ridiculous Six left such a bad taste in my mouth.
Blue Ruin is a movie I’ve heard described as No Country for Old Men featuring very stupid people. It's a revenge movie with a great ending that harkens back to the bleak style of 70’s films.
The Guest
If you mixed Halloween, The Terminator and Scream you’d get The Guest. Whereas it’s not particularly scary it’s a lot of fun and contains a ton of style worthy of it’s sourced material.
Mad Max: Fury Road
I think of Mad Max: Fury Road as “car chase the movie” except that I generally dislike car chases and I love Fury Road. It’s a solid entry into the Mad Max franchise and entertains each time I watch it.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
It’s a new Star Wars movie fitting of the original trilogy. Not sure I can give it any more accolades than that.
TV / Shows / Podcasts:
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is the greatest show of all time. I’ve been watching each episode and am currently mid season six. It’s a show I loved watching in the 90’s as a kid and holds up very well now. Lots of memes we use on the Internet either started on MST3K or were used on it. It’s a pretty impressive feat considering Internet/meme culture wasn’t a thing back in the 90’s. MST3K was recently Kickstarted for a new season and after backing it I can’t wait to watch the new episodes. Rewatching the old show a bit of a time is like experiencing an important part of history and can’t wait till I watch them all.
Anything Red Letter Media
Like many I started watching Red Letter Media after I watched The Phantom Menace reviews. I binged on the rest of the Plinkett Reviews then started watching Half in the Bag and most recently the video game review show Previously Recorded. I watch pretty much whatever they release and love nearly all of it. If you are looking for a hilariously unfiltered look at pop culture, I recommend anything Red Letter Media.
The Slashfilm Podcast
I love movies and the Slashfilm podcast is a good way to know what’s great. I heard about Faults, Blue Ruin and The Babadook through Slashfilm and found their reviews on The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and other popular films essential to the film-joyment process. I don’t watch all the films they review but really respect their opinions and find the banter to be very entertaining.
This post is a wrap up of a few things I enjoyed in 2015. It's not an exhaustive list but I am sure I am saying that so you don't judge me for only putting popular stuff on this list. You know, so if someone is all like "hey man why is this list Star Wars The Force Awakens" 20 times I can say "it's not meant to be exhaustive.”
The following lists aren't in any sorted order unless otherwise noted. This list is of things I experienced in 2015 not just stuff that was launched in 2015.
Hearthstone is the game of the year hands down no exception, no tag backs and no reverses. For me right now it's the perfect game. Every day I get a new quest where I can grind for gold. The dailies vary enough to be interesting and if I save 700 gold I can unlock a new Adventure tier. With each adventure tier you get new and interesting cards that can change your decks and how you play the game. When you unlock all the adventures you can open packs that also add and change how you play the game. Hearthstone has a few classes and each class combined with deck builds make for a wide arena to play in. Tavern Brawls mix the core game mechanics up in interesting ways and since it's such a popular game there is always someone to play with and I win enough to make the game fun and enjoyable.
I have acquired enough cards to make some interesting decks and as mentioned before my win ratio is high enough that the game is still lots of fun. I am not the greatest Hearthstone player and don't care to be but it's nice to improve my game over time. Hearthstone fits well in a world where you have little time because each match is only a few minutes long. I am not sure how long I will keep playing it but hands down in 2015 Hearthstone was my game of the year. I hope Blizzard keeps bringing the awesome because it's a great game and keeps getting better.
To date I've spend $0 in game. It's a nice achievement and I wonder how far I can climb ladder this way?
Terraria
The 1.3 update was great and my only real complaint was I didn't get to play it more. It seems they have finally "finished" Terraria in the we have a proper endgame but even with that they released the Mac and Linux ports and I’ve heard about future updates as well. It's a game I plan on playing in bursts every year and that’s pretty incredible considering I purchased it in a sale for $3.
Fallout 4
It's what everyone says it is unless someone says it's a bad game. I've recently stopped playing it for nearly no reason but each time I come back it's a solid experience. Bethesda did a great job here and the massive sales show that people are still interested in this franchise. I didn't get the DLC pack and don't plan to until I am completed with enough of the main game to warrant it. If you have the PC or console horsepower it's well worth a shot.
Broken Age
I bought Broken Age+Double Fine Adventure doc series in a slacker backer bundle and decided to play Broken Age when the whole game was released. Even though I looked how to complete most of the endgame puzzles(they are really hard in ways I don't want to spend time on) the games journey and story were very rewarding. The Double Fine Adventure doc series was similarly great and to a point was more enjoyable than the game itself. Double Fine has garnered some displeasure from the gaming crowd and whereas I understand the criticism I'm not sure I find the immense negativity to be warranted. Not a mega fan by any stretch but I enjoyed this game and the doc series that came from it.
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void
This was a great ending to the Starcraft II trilogy. Not sure much more needs to be said here, if you love those games check it out.
Movies:
The Babadook is a really unique film about grief and things that we can’t seem to shake. What they accomplished with such a small budget is remarkable and considering this the first film of Jennifer Kent even more so.
Faults is a strangely compelling film about cults. The first few minutes are a mixture of hypnotizing and cringeworthy mixed in such a way I couldn’t stop watching. It’s got a fun twist and showcases well how creative independent movies can be.
Beasts of No Nation is a Netflix original movie that is one of the most beautifully shot films i’ve seen all year. Beats is a movie about child soldiers and as such is a very emotional journey. Super happy to see such a high quality movie be released by Netflix after The Ridiculous Six left such a bad taste in my mouth.
Blue Ruin is a movie I’ve heard described as No Country for Old Men featuring very stupid people. It's a revenge movie with a great ending that harkens back to the bleak style of 70’s films.
The Guest
If you mixed Halloween, The Terminator and Scream you’d get The Guest. Whereas it’s not particularly scary it’s a lot of fun and contains a ton of style worthy of it’s sourced material.
Mad Max: Fury Road
I think of Mad Max: Fury Road as “car chase the movie” except that I generally dislike car chases and I love Fury Road. It’s a solid entry into the Mad Max franchise and entertains each time I watch it.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
It’s a new Star Wars movie fitting of the original trilogy. Not sure I can give it any more accolades than that.
TV / Shows / Podcasts:
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is the greatest show of all time. I’ve been watching each episode and am currently mid season six. It’s a show I loved watching in the 90’s as a kid and holds up very well now. Lots of memes we use on the Internet either started on MST3K or were used on it. It’s a pretty impressive feat considering Internet/meme culture wasn’t a thing back in the 90’s. MST3K was recently Kickstarted for a new season and after backing it I can’t wait to watch the new episodes. Rewatching the old show a bit of a time is like experiencing an important part of history and can’t wait till I watch them all.
Anything Red Letter Media
Like many I started watching Red Letter Media after I watched The Phantom Menace reviews. I binged on the rest of the Plinkett Reviews then started watching Half in the Bag and most recently the video game review show Previously Recorded. I watch pretty much whatever they release and love nearly all of it. If you are looking for a hilariously unfiltered look at pop culture, I recommend anything Red Letter Media.
The Slashfilm Podcast
I love movies and the Slashfilm podcast is a good way to know what’s great. I heard about Faults, Blue Ruin and The Babadook through Slashfilm and found their reviews on The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and other popular films essential to the film-joyment process. I don’t watch all the films they review but really respect their opinions and find the banter to be very entertaining.

The results have been counted and the winners of the Cheerful Ghost 2015 Game of The Year Awards are:
Triple A Game of the Year
Winner: Fallout 4
Runner Up: Bloodbourne
Indie Game of the Year
Winner: Rocket League
Runner Up: Ark: Survival Evolved
Update of the Year
Winner: Terraria 1.3
Runner Up: Hearthstone Tournament of Champions / League of Explorers
Mobile Game of the Year
This year we have a tie for the winner of the Mobile game of the year in Monument Valley and Fallout Shelter!
Thanks to everyone that voted and here's to 2016 being a great year in gaming!
Triple A Game of the Year
Winner: Fallout 4
Runner Up: Bloodbourne
Indie Game of the Year
Winner: Rocket League
Runner Up: Ark: Survival Evolved
Update of the Year
Winner: Terraria 1.3
Runner Up: Hearthstone Tournament of Champions / League of Explorers
Mobile Game of the Year
This year we have a tie for the winner of the Mobile game of the year in Monument Valley and Fallout Shelter!
Thanks to everyone that voted and here's to 2016 being a great year in gaming!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! As we are all hanging out online and in person I am wondering what games people are playing by themselves or with friends to ring in the new year? Fallout 4 counts just as much as drinking games so don't feel too shy here. Also curious what people want to see happen in gaming in 2016?

After taking nominations for our 2015 Cheerful Ghost Game of the Year awards here are polls to vote in. Please only vote once for each category and have fun!
We will tally the results on January 1st!
Triple A Game of the Year (Witcher 3, Bloodbourne, Fallout 4, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, Mario Maker):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=56801fade4b0d27fbad14f9c
Indie Game of the Year (Undertale, Ark: Survival Evolved, Rocket League, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Broken Age, Nuclear Throne, Talos Principle):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5680203de4b0d27fbad14f9d
Update of the Year (Terraria 1.3, Hearthstone Tournament of Champions / League of Explorers, Grim Fandango: Remastered, BioShock Infinite (Linux port)):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=568020aee4b0d27fbad14f9e
Mobile Game of the Year nominees ( Fallout Shelter, Crashy Road, Monument Valley):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=56802106e4b0d27fbad14f9f
We will tally the results on January 1st!
Triple A Game of the Year (Witcher 3, Bloodbourne, Fallout 4, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, Mario Maker):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=56801fade4b0d27fbad14f9c
Indie Game of the Year (Undertale, Ark: Survival Evolved, Rocket League, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Broken Age, Nuclear Throne, Talos Principle):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5680203de4b0d27fbad14f9d
Update of the Year (Terraria 1.3, Hearthstone Tournament of Champions / League of Explorers, Grim Fandango: Remastered, BioShock Infinite (Linux port)):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=568020aee4b0d27fbad14f9e
Mobile Game of the Year nominees ( Fallout Shelter, Crashy Road, Monument Valley):
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=56802106e4b0d27fbad14f9f

In this special episode of the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable livestream we discuss our thoughts on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. We start each show talking a bit about what we have been playing in video games and then our main event, Star Wars. We have a spoiler free section at the top of the show and quickly move into spoilers.
How many times do you all plan on watching The Force Awakens while it's still in theaters?
How many times do you all plan on watching The Force Awakens while it's still in theaters?

Recently I got together with Wick to do a retrospective interview discussion about Starship Rubicon and get this thoughts on this years launch. We talk about some of his new projects as well as some of his early memories of Star Wars and his start in game development modding Star Wars Battlefront II.
This video is part of a larger holiday video project. I really enjoyed cutting together this video and working more with this documentary interview style. It was also my first use of 4K which seems to have worked out just fine even if most people will ever see it in 1080p. I plan on doing more of these interviews in the Portland game scene so expect to see a few more of these pop up next year.
This video is part of a larger holiday video project. I really enjoyed cutting together this video and working more with this documentary interview style. It was also my first use of 4K which seems to have worked out just fine even if most people will ever see it in 1080p. I plan on doing more of these interviews in the Portland game scene so expect to see a few more of these pop up next year.

Starcraft II was one of the most anticipated sequels to one of the most memorable RTS games of all time. Starcraft II Wings of Liberty was a great start to the new trilogy and that start was built on in the later sequel Heart of the Swarm. Legacy of the Void is the finale of the story that started with the original Starcraft game and after having experienced the ending I can say is quite satisfying.
I'll start off with one of the biggest flaws of the game in that I never really connected with the Protoss. The Protoss are an interesting faction but I've never been drawn to them because they seem so stoic, grandiose and entirely unrelatable. Protoss are like a race of people that love the boringly epic speeches. They can belt it out, make you believe solidly for a few minutes but hearing that all the time is like making a game of political speeches. At one point Alarak, a member of the evil Protoss faction joins the story and it's a nice alternative to the sweepingly epic good nature of Artanis but his character is just an evil alternate. It's an interesting alternative but the game lacks any middle ground or grey area that Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm created. That said, Alarak is voiced by the amazing John de Lancie and his vocal stylings are on display and quite incredible.
The story is solid, but for me it never hit the amazing heights of Heart of the Swarm. Legacy of the Void is a sweeping epic but nothing wowed me like some of my most favorite parts of Heart of the Swarm. I am a die hard Zerg player so I imagine that bias paints much of my opinion here. Legacy of the Voids missions bring you into the game and slowly ramp up over time and everything is very well tuned for a smooth experience. The experience is smooth but it wasn't too hard either. The last couple missions add more difficulty and they took me a couple tries to beat but them but in the end the game doesn't offer a ton of difficulty on the normal settings. You can increase the difficulty and in a future playthrough I may do this. Don't misunderstand me, the normal setting is lots of fun but if you "get Starcraft" nothing should offer much challenge save the last few levels.
Like like Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm you get a full set of Protoss focused missions and a conclusion. Because Starcraft 2 focuses on the Terran, Zerg and Protoss they included a extra set of three prolog missions that bring back the three main characters and factions for a nice trilogy wrap up. I was expecting Blizzard to leave the series wide open for more games but they wrapped it up so nicely I am not sure where they are going next?
Starcraft II is an epic RTS space trilogy that is solid throughout. Since i've already come back to replay Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm I plan on doing the same to Legacy of the Void. I also want to play all of the Starcraft II games back to back to see how well they flow together as a cohesive story. Blizzard is continuing the Starcraft-verse with Nova Covert OPS DLC mission packs and I plan on picking those up and playing them next year. It's nice to see the game live on and if the continuing missions are as good as Legacy of the Void we should be in for a good time.
I'll start off with one of the biggest flaws of the game in that I never really connected with the Protoss. The Protoss are an interesting faction but I've never been drawn to them because they seem so stoic, grandiose and entirely unrelatable. Protoss are like a race of people that love the boringly epic speeches. They can belt it out, make you believe solidly for a few minutes but hearing that all the time is like making a game of political speeches. At one point Alarak, a member of the evil Protoss faction joins the story and it's a nice alternative to the sweepingly epic good nature of Artanis but his character is just an evil alternate. It's an interesting alternative but the game lacks any middle ground or grey area that Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm created. That said, Alarak is voiced by the amazing John de Lancie and his vocal stylings are on display and quite incredible.
The story is solid, but for me it never hit the amazing heights of Heart of the Swarm. Legacy of the Void is a sweeping epic but nothing wowed me like some of my most favorite parts of Heart of the Swarm. I am a die hard Zerg player so I imagine that bias paints much of my opinion here. Legacy of the Voids missions bring you into the game and slowly ramp up over time and everything is very well tuned for a smooth experience. The experience is smooth but it wasn't too hard either. The last couple missions add more difficulty and they took me a couple tries to beat but them but in the end the game doesn't offer a ton of difficulty on the normal settings. You can increase the difficulty and in a future playthrough I may do this. Don't misunderstand me, the normal setting is lots of fun but if you "get Starcraft" nothing should offer much challenge save the last few levels.
Like like Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm you get a full set of Protoss focused missions and a conclusion. Because Starcraft 2 focuses on the Terran, Zerg and Protoss they included a extra set of three prolog missions that bring back the three main characters and factions for a nice trilogy wrap up. I was expecting Blizzard to leave the series wide open for more games but they wrapped it up so nicely I am not sure where they are going next?
Starcraft II is an epic RTS space trilogy that is solid throughout. Since i've already come back to replay Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm I plan on doing the same to Legacy of the Void. I also want to play all of the Starcraft II games back to back to see how well they flow together as a cohesive story. Blizzard is continuing the Starcraft-verse with Nova Covert OPS DLC mission packs and I plan on picking those up and playing them next year. It's nice to see the game live on and if the continuing missions are as good as Legacy of the Void we should be in for a good time.

"The Coleco Chameleon is the new name for the Retro VGS, a hardware project which failed to raise sufficient backing during its crowdfunding campaign earlier this year. According to the latest press release, the Chameleon “is a versatile new video-game system that serves as a modern day take on the classic game console and will accurately play classic games from the past. The COLECO Chameleon also has the ability play brand-new games in the 8-, 16- and 32-bit styles, a growing and popular genre in today’s game scape.”"
After moving to the near majority of my gaming on PC I am not in the market for the latest Playstation or XBox. With that the Coleco Chameleon does actually interest me. Depending on what we get, this could be a very important system for the retro gaming community. A system that can play older games and be open for developers to produce all new retro savvy games would be very cool indeed. Not all games need to launch on Steam digitally and the retro community proves that buy and selling game carts is alive and well.
Very excited to see more details emerge from this project and as they do, we will be talking more about them.
http://www.retrogamer.net/blog_post/coleco-returns-to-console-production/
*UPDATE* Some new information has come up in regard to faked prototype hardware. Please read the below article for more information on this project.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2831/coleco-charmeleon-kickstarter-delayed-as-doubt-surrounds-prototypes
After moving to the near majority of my gaming on PC I am not in the market for the latest Playstation or XBox. With that the Coleco Chameleon does actually interest me. Depending on what we get, this could be a very important system for the retro gaming community. A system that can play older games and be open for developers to produce all new retro savvy games would be very cool indeed. Not all games need to launch on Steam digitally and the retro community proves that buy and selling game carts is alive and well.
Very excited to see more details emerge from this project and as they do, we will be talking more about them.
http://www.retrogamer.net/blog_post/coleco-returns-to-console-production/
*UPDATE* Some new information has come up in regard to faked prototype hardware. Please read the below article for more information on this project.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2831/coleco-charmeleon-kickstarter-delayed-as-doubt-surrounds-prototypes

“If I knew that this game could have become so addictive, I would have become a lot more wary of it,” the man said in a statement. “I would not have bought it, or I would have left it until I was on holiday or until the New Year holidays.”
This case, should it go to trial, would be the first hearing regarding video game addiction seen by a Russian court. The result could set a legal precedent in the country as to whether players could sue developers for the psychological impact of their products"
What do you think? Should this man get compensation for how awesome Fallout 4 is or should this man be on the hook solely?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/russian-lawsuit-claims-fallout-4-171615930.html
This case, should it go to trial, would be the first hearing regarding video game addiction seen by a Russian court. The result could set a legal precedent in the country as to whether players could sue developers for the psychological impact of their products"
What do you think? Should this man get compensation for how awesome Fallout 4 is or should this man be on the hook solely?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/russian-lawsuit-claims-fallout-4-171615930.html

Huh. I could've sworn I saw a ten-minute Fallout 3 speed run a couple years ago.