jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012

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

2753 Posts

I decided to create a video showing off my Prison Architect prison and toss people a few tips on how I maintain it. It is the first really sustainable prison I have created and have just kept adding to it over time. It can serve 100 inmates and I no longer have issues with riots or much in the way of inmate fighting.

Let me know what you think and if what things have helped you out.


http://i.imgur.com/KMjl9dR.jpg
When Terraria 1.2 released we immediately created a Cheerful Ghost Server and so far, I am loving the new 1.2 update. @WhiteboySlim and I discussed the game in our recent Roundtable episode 6, but I wanted to write a bit about how the game has gone since. Specifically the new hive mechanics and addition of the Queen Bee boss fight.

Over the last few days we have been mining the hive and creating Queen Bee spawn items. I have really enjoyed this process and it has given us a ton more reasons to hang out in the Jungle. In Terraria pre 1.2 you would basically explore the jungle, get some items and never have a reason to return. With the new hive mechanics, Queen Bee farming and increased drops in the Jungle, the Jungle is a really important biome. Plus it really extends the amount of game pre-hardmode, something that really makes the game more fun.

It's not hard to collect all the ingredients to spawn the Queen Bee, but it does take some effort and I find it a really fun process. Whereas its pretty straightforward to collect Vertebrae to craft spines to summon the new Brain of Cthulhu the process for crafting bee spawns is much more elaborate.

One of the new items the Queen Bee fight introduces is the bee gun. It takes magic and shoots bees that seek out enemies on the screen to attack for a limited time. This is a nice pre-hardmode weapon and one I have used quite a bit since I got one. All that to say, I really dig the new hive mechanics in the Jungle and Queen Bee boss fight.

If you are interested in joining us in our game check out the event here:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/events/39

I plan on writing more of my thoughts about the new 1.2 update.

*edit* The above picture is from the start of the server when we first found flare guns.


"Here's a quick look at some games being played with the prototype version of the Steam Controller -- the same version that we'll be shipping to 300 Steam users later this year. We'll post more demonstrations like this soon, including footage of some other game developers using the controller to play their own games."

In this awesome new video Valve shows off the new Steam Controller with Portal 2, Civilization 5, Counterstrike Go and Papers Please. The control of the games looks fluid and I like the varied nature of the games they are showing. The controller is pretty rough and is missing the middle display button, but it already seems very functional. In the video they mention that more of these videos will come out and they are wondering what games people would like to see played in the next video.

What kind of gameplay would you like to see on the next Steam Controller video? I am thinking Half-life 3, but you know that might not happen.


Portal: Survive is a interesting fan film short showcasing Portal and Lab Rat the Portal comic that ties Portal and Portal 2 together. The video contains a bit more Aperture Science lore with GlaDOS and the "neurotoxin accident" that cleared the facility.

This is one of the better fan video game films and I recommend you watch it. There was another Portal fan movie created back in 2011 called Portal: No Escape. Both are quite good and worthy of a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4drucg1A6Xk


"Since the heyday of arcades, death has been a key element in videogames. But does it actually teach us anything about our own lives? Over the years developers have created many variations of death in games: 3 lives, checkpoints, saved games...yet the human experience of death is a lot more, well, absolute. We don't have the option to continue or try again. In some games like DayZ, death works the same way: it's permanent. So does this make DayZ's permadeath a more meaningful gaming experience?"

Really like the dissection of permadeath in the latest episode of Game/Show. As usual the show goes into some depth about death itself and how we think about it. Hardcore is a more thrilling mode for certain, the permanence of death being front and center.

Games like FTL and Legend of Dungeon put permadeath front and center but it took my mind a bit of coaxing to get to a point where losing everything could be fun. That said, I couldn't imagine playing those games any other way now.

Do you often play hardcore to increase games thrill factor?


Escape Goat is an awesome new retro puzzle platformer by Magical Time Bean. The Goat was mysteriously imprisoned for Witchcraft in the prison and you must escape. Along the way you can find a mouse companion to help you get to hard to reach places as well as drop on switches to open doors. The mouse can also get a magic hat that you can use to switch locations with, allowing you to get to places that you can't jump to(best shown in Let's Play video above I made).

If you are looking for a great new platformer that has a unique flavor, Escape Goat is something you must check out. And it's not a bad time to do that because its only $3.99 on Steam & $4.99 on GOG right now.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/251370/
http://www.gog.com/game/escape_goat


In this smashing episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we talked about the new Steam Controller, Steam Machine Specs and the Terraria 1.2 update. We let our thoughts out of the bag on how we think the new Steam Controller will stack up with our gaming preferences and also talk about which of the three new Valve announcements we'd rather try first. Whiteboyslim & I then wash the rest of the episode down talking about the amazing new Terraria 1.2 update and our experiences with it pre-hardmode. Warning, it's pretty geek-tastic.

show notes



http://i.imgur.com/1Bd0ILj.jpg
Let's say you were going to carve a pumpkin for Halloween this year. And just for good measure, you wanted to have a more "video gamey" feel to things. Maybe you want to carve out some characters from an awesome upcoming new Indie title from our friends making Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake? As it turns out, today is your lucky day to nab and print these great pumpkin carving stencils.

If you make a carving from one of these, drop the image in the comments!

The above stencil is Grognar, if you are thinking of going a bit more "Bat styley" you can check out Eek's stencil.

http://i.imgur.com/bypDmDF.jpg


https://alastaira.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/image7.png
Take a peek at a capture of a segment from the original Legend of Zelda Manual. This was one of the first open world games I played and it blew my mind with its awesomeness. Hoping the new Zelda game Link Between Worlds really brings back some of the old magic these early games had.


"Come back to Rapture in a story that finds Booker and Elizabeth on the eve of the underwater city's fall from grace.
Get a taste of Rapture in its full glory, almost entirely built from scratch in the BioShock Infinite engine.
"

2K just dropped a 5 minute game-play video for part one of Burial At Sea, a upcoming DLC pack for BioShock infinite. Looks like a very pretty return to Rapture. The video really shows off the world building and I wanted them to spend more time just looking at things and listening to peoples conversations. I wonder how much of Rapture you will get to experience before it falls into chaos? That said, VERY excited to play this.

Anyone interested in picking this up?

http://www.bioshockinfinite.com/burial-at-sea-ep1