When I was a wee lad in the 90's Nintendo ruled my world. Not only did they make the best console at the time, but they also had a foothold in many other areas. Nintendo trading cards, Nintendo Cereal & Nintendo Comics were all things I desperately needed. Even though my childlike yearning was real, I didn't have much money so I really only had Nintendo Games and some trading cards. My cousin, WhiteboySlim had the comics books and I loved reading them when I went over to his house. To this day "Pihrana-Round Sue" and "Money Changes Everything" are some of my most beloved comics of all time.

I recently found a website that has scanned in all the old Valiant Nintendo Comics System issues and made them available to read online. Since there is no modern incarnation of these comics through the normal digital channels, it's good people are making them available so they don't lost to time.

http://catfish.it.cx/trsrockin/trsrockin.com/ncs.html

Get hype.

Today one of the developers of Terraria tweeted the above image and the following text:

"So I guess this is happening..."

Hot on the heels of news of a Mac port and achievements this next Terraria update may very well be the biggest updates to hit the game.

https://twitter.com/Cennxx/status/491691425592279040
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2110/mac-version-achievements-coming-to-terraria

"Is it always a valid excuse for a game to be poor? Well it just may depend on how you the game is labeled. Like and subscribe for more content on early access games!

In this video I go over a very large issue that has to do with early access games. Basically, a large majority feel that these games do not deserve any criticism. You can't complain about something that's not done. The fact is, depending on how the game is labeled (alpha or beta) there are certain objections you can make. "

We have talked about problem Early Access games before and this video seems to add to that conversation. Do you think that certain people let certain elements slide because the game is early access?

Miniverse is a new puzzle game by Ryan Rothweiler of Ryt Games. Ryan is a local Portland game developer and I first got my hands on the Miniverse beta at a few events we both we boothing at. Miniverse is a pretty unique game in that you take control of planets to move people around the universe. So far, my wife and I have been playing it together in that we both alternate the iPad to complete levels. The game is very challenging as Miniverse starts out straight forward and ramps up the difficulty. It never seems impossible, but the timed missions and quick turn arounds mean you have to be quick.

Miniverse is available for free with in game DLC on the iPad, right now.

jdodson: Miniverse was recently launched on the iPad. How has the launch gone and how does it seem people are receiving it?

Ryan Rothweiler: The launch has gone great. And really questions like this come down to what your definition of success is and the goals you had coming into the project. I started this about three years ago just after releasing a much smaller game which was just a clone of Super Meat Boy. So my goals with Miniverse were to come up with an appealing original concept and create a game around it. I learned a lot about teaching the player how to play, how to expand on mechanics, how to construct and structure mechanics, game designey things like that. Which was my goal. I also learned a ton about talking with press and how to market a game. I think Miniverse was actually too unique, I can't say it's like anything else (because it isn't) so there was no reference to market it from. I think people are receiving it well. That is kinda a hard thing to judge. I do know that players understand how to play, and are successfully playing. The game has fulfilled my initial goals, so I'm very happy with the launch.

jdodson: Are you planning to release Miniverse on Android tablets or other platforms like the Smartphones or PC?

Ryan Rothweiler: I'd like to. It would be nice. The only barrier is money and time. I think the concept of the game is strong, but I don't think it's strong enough to spend more money and time for other platforms. The iPad launch isn't monetarily successfully enough to warrant other platforms. So no.

jdodson: If you could ask Santa for one thing for Christmas and you would get it, what would it be?

Ryan Rothweiler: Surface Pro 3! For sure! My desktop is falling apart and I reeeallly need a new workstation! I'm pretty entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem (though mostly just because I'm a design and typography nerd, so the flat typographic Metro design Microsoft has going REALLY appeals to me). I've wanted a Surface for a long time. Probably not this Christmas though. :( Oh or a boat! I'm learning how to sail right now, and hoping to live on a boat within a year, so getting a sail boat would be amazing.

jdodson: Was there any game in particular you have played where you started to think you wanted to make games?

Ryan Rothweiler: Nope. I think I have a pretty unique take on games. I didn't grow up playing games, I've never been in an arcade, and I never really played console games much. Growing up I always thought I'd be an engineer. After starting to follow that thought I realized I wouldn't be happy with an engineering job because I couldn't put a part of myself into it. I want my work to speak about myself, and communicate who I am. I just can't do that with engineering. So I thought next I'd try graphic design, thinking hey that's more artistic yet somewhat technical. Which I did enjoy, but it was too artistic. I came to games because it seems like the perfect balance of artistic and technical skills. I also think that there is a HUGE inability to think progressively in the games industry. So really no there wasn't any game that made me think that I wanted to do games. I just think that I'm somewhat good at making games and that I enjoy making games!

jdodson: Any aspect of gaming or gaming culture you would change if you could?

Ryan Rothweiler: Mostly just the social stigma. I think that type of change has to come from internally though. As an industry and as individuals we need to take ourselves more seriously and hold ourselves to higher standards. We need to be more confident, dress better, speak more eloquently, be more professional, be more apart of the world. I really dislike Call of Duty not only because it's not a good game but also because it propagates the white male in his basement culture. I do think this will slowly get better as the gamer culture ages, and really it's already happening.

jdodson: You are living on a planet where one in ten people had died due to “the simian flu”. You notice that your small ragtag band of humans lives close to a race of super intelligent apes that ride horses and seem to be pretty handy with guns. What’s your next move?

Ryan Rothweiler: Find some sort of commodity that they need and take control of it (maybe the horses). Somehow become a linchpin in their society using the horses. Train the horses and trade with the apes, or kill a ton of horses while only keeping a few for yourselves and then trade. Also while building the human society. Training armies and building economies and such. Buy time by holding the apes in a poor economic situation while building human society. If they turn out to be cool and peaceful then try to integrate the two societies. If not then work on overpowering them.

jdodson: What are game(s) are you playing right now?

Ryan Rothweiler: Dota2. I've been playing a ton of Dota2. I have some ideas on a VR based eSport. Again I think in the next few year this is going to be a huge market. There are no good non team based eSport games. So it started as research, but now I play because I'm addicted. I want to play ShovelKnight though. That looks interesting. I'll probably pick that up here soon. I really don't play much games. I don't really consider myself a gamer. So I'll play a game if it's unique and interesting, but it usually doesn't last long.

jdodson: What’s next for you now that Miniverse has been released? Any thoughts to what the next game you release might be?

Ryan Rothweiler: It will be a while before whatever I do next is released. It's going to sound weird, but my goal for the next 5 - 10 years of my life is to win the igf. You don't have to release a game to win that award, so I don't have much incentive to release a game. I'm very goal oriented if you didn't notice. For my next project I'm looking for something that fits into the mold of games that win the igf and into the brand I'm trying to build. That's about it. Right now I'm prototyping a single player VR eSports game based around poker. Which really doesn't fit into the mold of the igf, buuut maybe. Still just prototyping ya know. I'm prototyping a new game each week, trying to hit an idea that I think can win, and then get it as good as possible for the October igf deadline. After that trying to get a job anywhere in the games industry to further my game design knowledge.

jdodson: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions today. Anything you want to say before we wrap things up?

Ryan Rothweiler: Thank you Jon! I do want to say thank you for taking the time to look at my work. And for taking the time to help out and be part of the indie community here in Portland. I've really enjoyed becoming more and more apart of the growing community. Also good questions, it was a joy writing answers. :)

http://www.miniversegame.com/

"I am recreating ‘Star Wars – A New Hope (Episode IV)’ the FULL film in vanilla Minecraft.

Minecraft – Star Wars – A New Hope is a transformative fan-film spoof parody based on the 1977 film ‘Star Wars – Episode 4′ It will be 100% FREE to view! NO money or profit is to be made from this project and monetization is disabled. It is being created by a fan, for the fans.

This project has been 3 years in the making and some of the individual sets have taken upto 6 months just to build. No mods have been used, just custom textures and art.

To watch the final film with sound you will need the original 1977 version of the film in your DVD/Blu-ray player."

I am very interested in watching this when it is finished. The website says the final version should drop in 2015 and be available for free for anyone to view. Are you interested in checking out Star Wars re-made for Minecraft?

http://paradisedecay.wordpress.com/

I love open world games. I can't wait for Fallout 4 and "yet another Skyrim game?" Yes please. That's why Far Cry 3 was the game I was the most interested to get in the last Steam sale. So when I saw the entire Far Cry franchise pack on sale for $15 I jumped at it.

To start things off properly, I installed the original Far Cry. I've heard great things about it and to date, haven't played it. After playing it for a few hours I can say I had a pretty good time and I now see why people hold it in high regard. That said, it's really fucking hard, the story isn't great and the play is a bit stiff. There was little to keep my interest in advancement so I didn't complete it, but I do see why people love it. For the time it was a beautiful, open world experience at a time where that kind of game wasn't very popular.

Originally I played Far Cry 2 on the PS3 I acquired from a Gamestop bargain bin sale and for the $5 I payed for it, thought it was great. Far Cry 2 improves on the Far Cry game play and graphics in nearly every way I can think of. That said, the version I picked up in the Steam sale is far superior to the PS3 version graphically and the game is still, very good. It's a fairly dark game as your start by picking a mercenary character to play as. You fly into a war-torn African country and complete for-hire jobs from two sides of the countries conflict. Over the course of the game, you hunt down The Jackal and attempt to stop him from arming both sides.

That said, I was more interested in Far Cry 3 and after a few hours of Far Cry 2 on PC I started Far Cry 3.

The first cut scene is the video above and as you can see, the game starts up with some bro worthy shenanigans. I was hoping there would be some kind of satirical element at play or a wink and nod to this kind of bro-culture, but it was played straight. It's as if the writers of Far Cry 3 are trying really hard to get "dat white guy" audience to love the game but it just comes off as some really bad version of some MTV reality show. That said, the intro sequence doesn't last forever and you are thrust into the part of the game where you can ignore the main story, because honestly, this game is best served that way.

It's not so much the intro sequence as the entire setup of the main narrative entirely. Basically the point of the game is that your are Whitey McDude on a vacation with your bro-squad living life to the X-treme when you take a totally questionable sky dive jump into a camp of pirates. The story does get sightly more interesting as you are called "a little bitch" by the pirate leader Vaas. Again, the games narrative gets more interesting when the super X-treme bro-squad get's imprisoned by pirates, if only for a minute. That said, the shit gets real fast and you escape the camp to later be knocked unconscious. You wake up in the hut of "one of the good island natives" and he proceeds to say you are going to save the island because you are a warrior. Nothing to this point proves you are a warrior, except deep down, this guy feels it. He then proceeds to tattoo you up and hands you a gun and you set out to save his people.

As much pandering as that is, I think this game might have been more interesting if you were some islander who got fed up with the pirates and decided to take action. But instead of that it's Whitey McDude on the case and does he ever look good in that plain white shirt and those tribal tattoos.

That said, if you ignore the story and focus on the gameplay that's where the game shines. The game is a fantastic open world extravaganza of interesting gameplay and great shooting mechanics. It's awesome to just simply walk around in this world as the art is so beautiful. As you walk around the island, wild dogs will chase other animals like pigs and goats. In fact, there are tons of animals on the island and experiencing them all is fun. Getting attacked by a shark for the first time scared the shit out of me so much I decided to take revenge by going on a great white killing spree with a Jetski. Jaws couldn't top the carnage I inflicted on his children and many sharks were lost.

Nearly every element of the game is upgradable by collecting some in game item and crafting it. For instance, if you want to upgrade an ammo pouch, hunt a wild boar and craft a better one from the skins. The game doesn't skimp on the gore as it shows the player taking out a knife and cutting up the animal you are hunting.

If you are looking for a really neat RPG open world shooter, Far Cry 3 is for you. If you are expecting a game that goes beyond seriously cliched plot devices you will be disappointed but there is a lot of awesome here to love. And if it's any consolation, Far Cry 4 drops the white savior main character and opts for something a bit more interesting. Because if there is anything i've come to expect is the next version of Far Cry should be a ton better than the previous one.

"The object of the game is to protect your fruit orchard from insect fruit thieves, scoring points by exterminating the attackers."

I file Spider Fighter in the "awesome Atari 2600 games most people never heard of" category. That said, even though it wasn't well known it was my favorite 2600 title. Spider Fighter stood out to me because the game started as a fast paced shoot em up and as you completed levels got even faster. The game got so fast at points that I could beat a level in seconds. That said, the quick pace often meant you could die very quickly if you weren't careful.

After my final Atari 2600 controller broke I decided to sell my Atari collection. Even though I parted ways with Spider Fighter and the rest of my 2600 games I still kept all the game manuals. The Spider Fighter manual states that if you score 40,000 or more points you qualify for Activition's elite corp of Spider Fighters. If you take a picture of your screen and send it to them they will send you an official Spider Fighter emblem. As I kid I regularly hit scores higher than 40,000 and always wanted to send in a picture, but figured that far into the 90's Activision wasn't taking new recruits into the Spider Fighter corps. But even if I didn't get an official emblem, I was a member in my heart.

I had friends that owned Amigas but my PC history started with the Commodore and then moved to DOS. That said, this video shows off 100 of the best games from the Amiga system and many of them shared ports with DOS.

Did anyone in Ghost land have an Amiga?

Joe Hanson of "It's Ok To Be Smart" takes on this topic, Mythbusters style. According to Joe, blowing into your NES cart didn't work at all and in fact, hurts it. The video answers the retro-mythical question "why did we all think blowing on our carts work, when it didn't?" It's a fairly in depth look at cognitive dissonance associated with certain actions we all do.

It's time to celebrate freedom and in this episode we do just that by talking about some of the most freedom loving games of all time. We also discuss some awesome video game explosions as well as Half-Life 3 (confirmed).

As with every episode we start out talking a bit about what we are playing and what we are drinking.

Game Jam: Distance - http://coffee_nat.itch.io/distance