jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012
  Admin

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2753 Posts

Playing Through Portal 2 Co-Op
http://i.imgur.com/3GyH6Rq.jpg
Recently I decided to play through Portal 2 again and afterward wanted more to play. Originally when I played Portal 2 it was such a great experience I felt no draw to play the co-op missions. The Portal 2 co-op missions take place directly after the single player story is complete and feature Atlas and P-body, two testing robots sent forth by GLaDOS. I asked Travis if he wanted to play the co-op missions and he was happy to oblige. Tonight we started through the missions together and I am happy to say, it was lots of fun.

Portal 2 co-op reminds me more of the original Portal than anything. The co-op game focuses way more on straight testing than story which make sense. Since there are two players the testing chambers get a bit more complicated quicker and we had to spend some time getting certain jump puzzles right. I love jumping through the air and if you love that too, you should play the co-op missions.

We never ran into anything we couldn't figure out but I imagine the chambers are going to get harder. During our first session together we completed the intro, first and second levels.

The game's story is pretty good but my only point of note is that it isn't as sharp as the main Portal 2 campaign. GLaDOS is still her vengeful self but the game misses something in the back and forth she has with Chell(the human character featured in the main Portal and Portal 2 campaigns).

If you have the ability to play Portal 2 split-screen on a console or with a friend over the Internet I seriously recommend it. Doesn't everyone love testing?

Starbound: More Information On Improving Player Progression
http://i.imgur.com/VVyNfVi.jpg
"As we said before, the current progression is entirely temporary, existing to provide temporary gameplay whilst we work on the engine. Today I want to share more with you about the games new structure and the beginning of the game.

First of all we’re removing the different universe sectors. In the final game there will be only three sectors. The sector the majority of the game takes place in, a pvp sector and a creative sector without dangers.

Instead of progressing through the game sector by sector, you’ll advance by upgrading your tech to allow you to visit planets that were otherwise inaccessible due to hazards. An example being a planet with no breathable air. Progression will be less linear and more akin to the kind of progression you find in modern metroidvanias.

We’re building the game with 3 main paths of progression that branch off later on. Farming, adventuring and building. We want players to be able to advance through the game whilst doing whatever they enjoy most.

At the beginning of the game (what would be the alpha sector in the current progression) you start on a ship with a broken fuel module, giving you access to only one planet. Through a series of quests you’re taught how to farm, find trophies in dungeons and build the beginnings of a settlement. Completing these quests will give you the pixels you need to use your ships 3d printer to produce a new fuel module. Which in turn allows progression to the other planets in your current solar system.

At this stage were introducing a new planet type called an outpost. A small and safe planet populated by members of every race. A safe haven for trade and quest taking. You’ll learn how to generate pixels through selling crops, taking quests, selling trophies found in dungeons and renting out houses in your settlement.

From here each of these roles will expand outwards as you progress (for example animal farming becomes an optional part of the farming progression)."

Really looking forward to see the games progression change. Whereas the core mechanics can be fun, the main game progression with sectors seemed very arbitrary. I like the natural progression where you would need to get a breathing system to make it to a planet with no oxygen. I only hope that certain races wouldn't need that as the Glitch really don't need oxygen as they are robots.

I can't wait to see some of these changes make it to the core game and also have the game get way less buggy. I recently started my game and all my chests disappeared including my ship locker. I know it's still early beta, but it's still not great to have that happen. Hopefully things iron out a bit more and we enter a pretty bug free part of the beta.

Curious how long it might be for them to hit 1.0. At this pace it seems like it might be end of 2014 or .. beyond?

http://playstarbound.com/23rd-february/

RetroLiberty's Top 10 Mario Games
"Its near impossible to pick a favorite Mario game, what games get left out and Aaron has a few top choices that normally are not in the top 3!"

I like this list because it places Mario 2 quite high. I know, Mario 2 was Doki, Doki, Panic, but like the video states, that doesn't make it a bad game. Thing is, i'd love to see a new Mario game riff Mario 2 ideas and have been bummed it hasn't happened yet.

That said, this list is quite good and features a segment from YouTuber MetalJesus! So, you know, watch it.

Valve's Free to Play Movie Coming March 19th
"FREE TO PLAY is a feature-length documentary that follows three professional gamers from around the world as they compete for a million dollar prize in the first Dota 2 International Tournament. In recent years, E Sports has surged in popularity to become one of the most widely-practiced forms of competitive sport today. A million dollar tournament changed the landscape of the gaming world and for those elite players at the top of their craft, nothing would ever be the same again. Produced by Valve, the film documents the challenges and sacrifices required of players to compete at the highest level."

Apparently Valve is getting into the business of doing everything and as such are releasing a full length feature film documentary called Free To Play on March 19th. The movie will be streaming on Steam at that date and from the trailer and early reviews, it looks pretty good.

I wonder how else Valve plans to make feature films? So far, I am impressed.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/245550

Cheerful Ghost Roundtable S2 E3: Getting A Gaming PC in 2014
In this episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we talk all about Gaming PC's. Build or buy, Mac or Windows, we talk about it all. At the end we discuss game pricing when I recently came to some sticker shock over $60 buy.

What We are Playing & Drinking

  • 0:45m scrypt: Kingdoms of Amalur & FTL

  • 2:45m Travis: TextMate

  • 3:25m jdodson: catwebcams.com, Portal 2, Reus & Borderlands 2


Getting A Gaming PC in 2014

  • 8.40m What are we current running and what do we like or dislike about our setups?

  • 22:00m Building VS Buying

  • 29:15m What is the most we want to spend?

  • 36:15m Do we have any particular PC brands we like?

  • 42:00m What PC did Greg actually get?


Game Pricing and How it is Evolving

  • 43:55m Wolfenstein pre-order comes with Doom Beta price is $60

  • 49:00m Digital VS Physical


This Roundtable was based on the following post started by GregoPeck:

http://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/1888

Humble Indie Bundle 11: THEY WILL NEVER STOP COMING!
"Humble Indie Bundle 11 features six top-notch indie games, just name your price. Pay what you want for the magical Mex-inspired action-platformer, Guacamelee! Gold Edition, the gorgeous action RPG, Dust: An Elysian Tail, the atmospheric puzzle-platformer, The Swapper and the blistering hardcore platformer, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, which includes a sweet digital comic. Pay more than the average price and you'll also unlock the mind-bending psychological exploration game, Antichamber, and the adrenaline-pumping heist game, Monaco: What's Yours is Mine."

For nothing else, you should buy this Bundle for Monaco. Monaco is a really fun top down Indie stealth game that shines in co-op. I have heard great things about The Swapper so there is much to play in this latest Bundle. All the games comes DRM free and available with Steam keys and run on Mac, Linux and Windows. Well, all except Giana Sisters, that will be ported to Linux and Mac later this year. All told that's not too bad as I would love to play it on my Steam Machine and better later than never.

https://www.humblebundle.com/

Irrational Games Will Close Shop Soon
In what has become my "bummer of the day" it seems Irrational Games, the company that brought us BioShock, BioShock Infinite and Freedom Force is closing down.

"We built Rapture and Columbia, the Von Braun and The Rickenbacker, the Freedom Fortress and some of the nastiest basements a SWAT team ever set foot into. We created Booker and Elizabeth, the Big Daddy and the Little Sister, MidWives and ManBot. In that time, Irrational has grown larger and more successful than we could have conceived when we began our three-person studio in a living room in Cambridge, MA. It’s been the defining project of my professional life.

Now Irrational Games is about to roll out the last DLC for BioShock Infinite and people are understandably asking: What’s next?

Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had. While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.

I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it. I’ll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two. That is going to mean parting ways with all but about fifteen members of the Irrational team. There’s no great way to lay people off, and our first concern is to make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition."

Well damn. That said, Ken is a pretty talented guy and I wish him and his team well!

http://irrationalgames.com/

More FTL Advanced News Surfaces: Clones, Hacking & Battery
The FTL team released more information about the new expansion that is pretty interesting. It seems the game is getting several new subsystems like the Clone Bay, Hacking, Mind Control & Backup Battery. I find the Clone Bay an neat addition to the game as when you select it, it replaces the Med Bay. Apparently with the Clone Bay your crew is regenerated, thereby allowing you care less about death.

Overall the expansion is starting to look really awesome and I can't wait to check it out. Still no release date set and as soon as they have one, you will be the first to know.

http://www.ftlgame.com/?p=647

Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake: Min-terview -w Justin Baldwin
http://i.imgur.com/DgzwY6L.jpg
Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is the game that got me hooked on Kickstarter. From seeing the first few minutes of the video to looking at the lush game art, I was impressed. After seeing the game first hand at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, I can say that I can't wait to get my hands on the final product. I've been curious about the progress of the game for quite some time so I decided to ship over a few questions to Sleep Ninja Games. Justin Baldwin got back and as a special treat gave us two exclusive screen shots of the game in development. The first shot above is of the Village with the in game character Altus. The other screen grab is of The Apricot Acres and you can click to view that one below. I think you guys will all agree that the art for this game is pretty incredible and that those frosting cubes need saving!

The Apricot Acres: http://i.imgur.com/fIHWNB3.jpg

jdodson: Recently you showed off the monster Pizzy. One of her abilities is “Rainbarf” and I am curious if it works just like it looks, which is a concentrated laser beam of Rainbow colored puke? Which if it works like that, will be totally awesome.

Justin Baldwin: Yup. That's pretty much it. To quote her bio in the game "She can yack a wicked rainbow beam that activates ancient Energy Gems and detonates Boogins into a shower of psychedelic sparkle dust!" She is very effective in taking out enemies but you also still have to use her wisely. Your other characters can't really go through a blazing beam of rainbow barf either. So if you need her to activate Energy Gems in the game, you also need to consider the positioning and abilities of your other characters in order to solve puzzles correctly.

jdodson: When are you expecting Kickstarter backers will be able to start playing the game? With that, do you guys also have a release date for 1.0?

Justin Baldwin: We are planning on releasing a desktop backer build with the first zone of the game in March so our backers can get their hands on it. It also will give us a good opportunity to get some feedback from our supporters. The full game release right now is planned for Summer, we have a specific date set, we just aren't able to say yet due to distribution discussions that aren't fully settled yet. We will be able to announce the date soon.

jdodson: What are you working on right now?

Justin Baldwin: Currently we are finished with most of the core game mechanics and systems the game needs to use. We currently are mostly focused on getting the backer build ready. We are currently doing a lot of level design, bug squishing, adding polish, and adding a few more things that we think might be interesting. Rich Vreeland AKA Disasterpeace (Fez, The Floor Is Jelly) and Jordan Fehr (Super Meat Boy, Hotline Miami) are also doing some awesome work with the music and audio for the game as well. We still have a decent chunk of work ahead of us though for full release, but we finally starting to see a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

jdodson: I was just thinking this morning about a possible sequel to the game called “Monsters Borrowed My Liar, Liar VHS Tape.” This really isn’t a question. In retrospect the game might also be very short.

Justin Baldwin: Haha, we always joked about "Monsters Ate My Taxes" or "Monsters Ate My Toilet Paper".

jdodson: Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake ships and people love it. After you bask in the limelight for a bit what are you guys planning on next?

Justin Baldwin: We definitely hope people enjoy it. We've put a lot of our blood, sweat, and tears into it. We likely will take a much needed breather like you said, getting some decent sleep for once and spending time with the loved ones we've been having to neglect over this process. But after that, we have two other game ideas in the burner. Both are quite a larger departure from what Monsters is, Monsters is more of a ode to childhood, something I honestly miss sometimes. One is a larger Gibson-esque Sci Fi RPG we've been wanting to do for a while, but it's a larger project. The other, and the game we likely will do next, is smaller in scale but focuses on just pure fun.

It's a little to early on for me to share much on specifics but it has a large focus on retro 4-player games where you sat in the same room as your friends at sleepovers and played all night. Games like Super-Bomber Man, Mutant League Hockey / Football, NBA Jam, Wayne Gretzky 64. I feel like there isn't enough out there these days besides VS mode in Spelunky and Towerfall that do this in way that feels this way. It's hard for me not to get excited and just blurt every detail but I don't want to share too much too early. I can say it will be ridiculous, over the top, and layer on a lot of that "We are so edgy it's the 90s" Sega and Super Nintendo cheese I dearly miss from the early 90s.

jdodson: Thanks for taking the time to get back to me, anything last thing you want to say as we wrap things up?

Justin Baldwin: Thanks man, really we are just excited to get Monsters out there and get the project wrapped up finally. We hope everyone keeps an eye out for it, and gives the game a play after release.

If you are interested in reading our first interview with Justin during the games initial Kickstarter:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/919

Metal Jesus Compares Super Famicom & Super NES Cover Art
Metal Jesus compares the cover art from the Super Nintendo and Super Famicom games such as Mother 2, Phalanx, Super Metroid and Link to the Past. As always, YouTuber Metal Jesus brings the awesome and as such this video is well done and contains some interesting history about the games as well.

Metal Jesus Rocks.