In this episode one of the Game Shop Employees makes a VIDEO GAME!
I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.
2731 Posts
It has been way too long since the last community interview with @panickedthumb so apologies to all about that. The lull till the next community interview won't be as long. For all of you that didn't know, Tungsten did the current incarnation of the Cheerful Ghost logo for the site from its very early form as well as being a site moderator. I really enjoyed tossing around game related questions with him quite a bit.
jdodson: What is the last game you picked up? What do you think about it?
Tungsten: Money has been tight, so it's been a while since I picked up a AAA title. Instead, I've been delving into F2P. I just started on Planetside2, and I'm really enjoying it. Other than that, I'm still active in Diablo III. I don't have tons of time to play games on a normal night, so a couple Act3 farming runs usually fits in nicely. I know others have been disappointed with it, but it is almost everything that I wanted, and my over 200 hours of playtime will attest to that.
jdodson: I am planning on downloading Planetside 2 soon, any tips for starting out? How does it compare to other recently released MMO F2P shooters like Tribes Ascend?
Tungsten: Planetside is big and fairly well designed. It is a persistent world FPS, which is kind of interesting: there is no match or round, it just keeps going. They've introduced a bunch of mechanics that naturally break up the fighting into battles, but these battles can last minutes, hours, or even days. The fighting is more traditional than Tribes Ascent: it feels almost like a Call of Duty, but perhaps a bit slower.
I like it. It feels... epic. A lot of things that have to be scripted into other games occur naturally: air-strikes, reinforcements, new enemies joining a battle... it feels good.
It is very intimidating to start, though. I highly recommend watching the tutorial videos and then finding a small, well-run squad to fight with (the squads are temporary and can be automatically joined with the [insert] key.) A couple hours in and you'll be complaining about noobs like a pro.
jdodson: Occasionally I get a game that is a total let down. Did you get one recently that comes to mind?
Tungsten: Total let down... none since Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am (I mean the title would make you think it was awesome, right? It wasn't).
Well, I'll probably get flack for it, but I was a little let down by Skyrim. I am in no way saying that it was a bad game or that I didn't enjoy it (shoot, I'm at least 200 hours into that one as well); it just didn't live up to my expectations. It became a bit more of a sandbox for me when I started to plugin mods, which redeemed it in a lot of ways.
jdodson: I am gonna come out and support you here. I like Skyrim, but I didn't love it. I am still not more than maybe 15 hours into the game. Not sure why. I imagine I will come back and play it more at some point, I think having so many games attributed to this.
What mods do you recommend people checkout to give Skyrim a bit of a boost?
Tungsten: Ultimate followers Overhaul (UFO) - lead as many people as you like. While it does have more than a few bugs, it changes the game in a nice way.
Invested Magic - Changes how a few spells work in a logical way. If you do lots of magic, try this one out.
Unlimited Conjuration - Want a zombie army? Well, here's your chance.
Cloaks - Um... cloaks...
Whistle - Summons your horse.
Oh, and if your computer can handle it, throw in an ENB. It makes the game look **very nice**.
jdodson: If you have Netflix, I wonder what movie you recommend watching from Instant Streaming?
Tungsten: It's not a movie, but recently my wife and I have been going through the show "Better Off Ted." There are only about 20 episodes, but they're hilarious. Highly recommended. Apart from that, I love the new Sherlock (not the movies, but the BBC series), the Walking Dead, Dr. Who. Movie wise, I just watched Raising Arizona again the other day. It was all down hill from there for Nicholas Cage.
jdodson: Steam is coming to Linux. Big Picture Mode has been released. Portal 2 on PC allows split screen mode. What does this mean to you? What do you think this means for gaming over the next few years?
Tungsten: Convergence? Maybe? I don't know. The problem is that the mobile market is pushing the console market to be faster and more reactive. This has lead to some great things like the marketplace and DLC. Unfortunately, as is starting to happen in the mobile market, games are going to stop running on everything out there. Here is what I see: in a few years time, everything will just be the same thing. With the advent of iOS and tablets, computers are starting to look more console like. Consoles on the other hand are adding browsers, media streaming, DLC, indie games... it's all starting to get indistinguishable. Money always wins, so my guess is that they won't ever truly unify because it justifies more sales if they don't. I'll tell you though, I don't see myself buying a new console any time soon. I think I'd rather invest that money in something I have a bit more control over.
jdodson: I agree with you on wanting more control. With the push to app stores do you think the gaming landscape is getting more open?
Tungsten: It is very nice that I can, right now, open up Steam or Live, and buy games that some guy down the street made. Look at Minecraft or (insert other example, I can't think of one right now), but with the new level of accessibility we can get innovation and ideas to an industry that puts out a new roster for Madden every year and calls it a game.
jdodson: What is the current/last gen console you use or like the most? XBox 360? PS3?
Tungsten: I really enjoyed my XBOX 360. Live works like a charm. Even coming back to PC, where online multi-player really started, seemed slow and clunky in comparison. It amazes me when huge titles don't come with voice support, while any little XBOX game can pull it off with no trouble at all. Game wise, it all got muddled after a while. That's what drew me in to the PC again: I have more titles to choose from, usually for cheaper, and they look better. Look at something like SpaceChem, my favorite game of (last year? two years ago?): that sort of thing, at least at this time, is only happening on PC.
jdodson: From all the rumblings you have heard about the next gen consoles what is something you heard you don't like? Something you did like?
Tungsten: Well, the Wii-U holds no interest for me whatsoever. I wasn't too happy with what they did with Kinect on the 360, so I have doubts about that future. (Seriously, you have something that can track objects in 3D and the best you can do is simple gestures that would have been easier with a button? I really just wanted an FPS where I could lean and the screen would lean with me. Is that too much to ask?). Sony has a lot to prove after losing ground to Microsoft, so I would expect them to come out with something solid.
jdodson: I agree with you now, the Wii U doesn't interest me either. I like the HD graphics, but to be fair, I didn't mind the graphics of the Wii. They were a bit fuzzy, but I didn't come to the Wii for that kind of game. You seem to have skipped the PS3 I wonder why that was?
Tungsten: I never put more than 2 hours into one, so, in my own personal gaming landscape, it doesn't exist. I really would love to play few games on it some time: Uncharted, Dust 514, Metal Gear. I've just never had the chance.
jdodson: 3 new Hobbit Movies. Hot or not? I don't know why but I have to write "3 MORE HOBBIT MOVIES" in all caps.
Tungsten: 2 months ago I would have said 'not', but after a few trailers I think that I could use three such movies. Oddly enough, here's what I'm most excited about: singing dwarves. I know it's odd, but the singing was such a big part of the books and it all disappeared from the first set of movies. If I only get one song per movie, I think I'll be satisfied.
jdodson: If Peter Jackson can tap more into that element of the books I will be happy too. The Hobbit is my most beloved book of all time so when they said they would split it in three my already hesitant mind went to a worse place. I had some time to sort of take it all in and have come out on a positive note. I really enjoyed looking forward to a new Lord of the Rings movie in December and for the next three years we will have Hobbits again each year. I can get excited about that even if it isn't everything I want.
With Jackson's push into the realm of 48 frames per second... well do you think this will bring us to a new "HD" movie territory or make it look too foreign?
Tungsten: I think that I will personally pretend to like it for about a year before finally giving up and admitting that it makes me want to vomit.
jdodson: I recently got Minecraft and all I seem to do is farm wheat and breed Cows and Sheep. Well that and chop down trees. I just built a tree house. I am not sure this is a question.
Tungsten: Here is what I do: wander until I find something cool. Build a portal to the nether. Build a portal out of the nether. End up somewhere else and I have no clue where. Rinse, repeat.
jdodson: I should try this. I haven't built a nether portal yet, I should look up the recipe.
Tungsten: 10 blocks obsidian arranged in a doorway pattern. Then you light the bottom two block on fire with a flint.
jdodson: Cheerful Ghost has around for almost a year now. What would you want to see it do if you could have it do something different?
Tungsten: Merge a few things. Don't have a separate "games" section. Instead, just have the "write about" list become the "games list" and have write about become the top option. What I love about the site, is that you really start to get to know the people who post, even if it is just through a few words at a time. I would love another way to connect with them, perhaps through personal pages (like games pages, but for each member instead. Shoot that's starting to sound like face-book. Don't do that, they'll sue). I do think that the site needs to be more... broad... not in its content but in its structure. If that ever happens, I would love the ability to follow people's comments, connect in games, and even chat with them.
jdodson: Max Payne 3 is on sale during Steams Autumn Sale for $15. Is this a must buy or is it fine I wait for it to be in a larger sale pack during a future sale?
Tungsten: I don't know... It's really good, but I don't think that waiting 2 months is going to hurt it much. I guess it depends when you're going to have the free time, because it really is a game that should have at least a couple hours to a play session so that you can keep the story intact.
No matter what though, get it. Other than Red-Dead Revolver, it is the best Rockstar game.
jdodson: Read-Dead Revolver? I just checked that game only has a PS2 and XBox port, without a PC port these kinds of games get a pretty limited life. What made Read-Dead Revolver so awesome to you?
Tungsten: Typo: Red Dead Redemption.
jdodson: What video game character from your childhood do you think is the coolest?
Tungsten: Bowie from Shining Force 2 was a badass, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Luigi from Super Mario Brothers 2. Oh, and I can't leave out Cecil and Kain from FFII (or FFIV if you're a hipster). I even suggested Cecil as a name for our first child if it was a boy. (It wasn't.)
jdodson: Recently I had to switch my brain to call Final Fantasy 2 IV and 3 VI. I bow to the hipsters I am tired of getting corrected :D
Tungsten: All I know is that when I want to my friends house and he was playing THE BEST GAME EVER it said Final Fantasy 3 on the box. If you grew up playing an import copy, then call it 6, more power to you.
jdodson: Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis?
Tungsten: Super Nintendo. Final Fantasy > Phantasy Star. Mario > Sonic. Metroid > everything else. (Honorable mention: Herzog Zwei on the Genesis was one of the great games of my child-hood.)
jdodson: You have played a lot of Diablo 3. From your perspective now, what keeps you interested in the game? What could they add or change to make the game better in your opinion?
Tungsten: I love the grind. I don't know why. It almost feels like a job some times, and I think I shouldn't like that... but I do. It's also been fun to watch it change as the patches come out, almost like Minecraft was in its beta days. I think it's the promise of that Legendary Drop worth 500,000,000 gold that brings me back, almost like gambling where I get to crush demons along the way.
jdodson: What's the most epic drop you got?
Tungsten: Ya, about that... I never got anything all that good. I don't know why, but the Diablo god's never deigned to deliver unto me anything worth more than 1-mil or so gold, and in today's market, that isn't anything.
jdodson: Indiana Jones 4. He rode a fridge. Shia Labeouf played Tarzan with monkeys. Aliens. Again, I am not sure this is a question.
Tungsten: You know what... never saw it. I blame this whole thing on George Lucas (and you Mr. Spielberg for listening to him). Keep that man away from everything I love please. I'm calling it here: the Disney Star Wars movies will be at least 10 times better than the previous three. I think that he gets confused as to why people like movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones: it's because, while watching them, for just that moment, we feel like we're Harrison Ford, shooting Nazis and Aliens. Stop trying to fulfill your vision Mr. Lucas! Fulfill ours!
jdodson: What is the last game you picked up? What do you think about it?
Tungsten: Money has been tight, so it's been a while since I picked up a AAA title. Instead, I've been delving into F2P. I just started on Planetside2, and I'm really enjoying it. Other than that, I'm still active in Diablo III. I don't have tons of time to play games on a normal night, so a couple Act3 farming runs usually fits in nicely. I know others have been disappointed with it, but it is almost everything that I wanted, and my over 200 hours of playtime will attest to that.
jdodson: I am planning on downloading Planetside 2 soon, any tips for starting out? How does it compare to other recently released MMO F2P shooters like Tribes Ascend?
Tungsten: Planetside is big and fairly well designed. It is a persistent world FPS, which is kind of interesting: there is no match or round, it just keeps going. They've introduced a bunch of mechanics that naturally break up the fighting into battles, but these battles can last minutes, hours, or even days. The fighting is more traditional than Tribes Ascent: it feels almost like a Call of Duty, but perhaps a bit slower.
I like it. It feels... epic. A lot of things that have to be scripted into other games occur naturally: air-strikes, reinforcements, new enemies joining a battle... it feels good.
It is very intimidating to start, though. I highly recommend watching the tutorial videos and then finding a small, well-run squad to fight with (the squads are temporary and can be automatically joined with the [insert] key.) A couple hours in and you'll be complaining about noobs like a pro.
jdodson: Occasionally I get a game that is a total let down. Did you get one recently that comes to mind?
Tungsten: Total let down... none since Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am (I mean the title would make you think it was awesome, right? It wasn't).
Well, I'll probably get flack for it, but I was a little let down by Skyrim. I am in no way saying that it was a bad game or that I didn't enjoy it (shoot, I'm at least 200 hours into that one as well); it just didn't live up to my expectations. It became a bit more of a sandbox for me when I started to plugin mods, which redeemed it in a lot of ways.
jdodson: I am gonna come out and support you here. I like Skyrim, but I didn't love it. I am still not more than maybe 15 hours into the game. Not sure why. I imagine I will come back and play it more at some point, I think having so many games attributed to this.
What mods do you recommend people checkout to give Skyrim a bit of a boost?
Tungsten: Ultimate followers Overhaul (UFO) - lead as many people as you like. While it does have more than a few bugs, it changes the game in a nice way.
Invested Magic - Changes how a few spells work in a logical way. If you do lots of magic, try this one out.
Unlimited Conjuration - Want a zombie army? Well, here's your chance.
Cloaks - Um... cloaks...
Whistle - Summons your horse.
Oh, and if your computer can handle it, throw in an ENB. It makes the game look **very nice**.
jdodson: If you have Netflix, I wonder what movie you recommend watching from Instant Streaming?
Tungsten: It's not a movie, but recently my wife and I have been going through the show "Better Off Ted." There are only about 20 episodes, but they're hilarious. Highly recommended. Apart from that, I love the new Sherlock (not the movies, but the BBC series), the Walking Dead, Dr. Who. Movie wise, I just watched Raising Arizona again the other day. It was all down hill from there for Nicholas Cage.
jdodson: Steam is coming to Linux. Big Picture Mode has been released. Portal 2 on PC allows split screen mode. What does this mean to you? What do you think this means for gaming over the next few years?
Tungsten: Convergence? Maybe? I don't know. The problem is that the mobile market is pushing the console market to be faster and more reactive. This has lead to some great things like the marketplace and DLC. Unfortunately, as is starting to happen in the mobile market, games are going to stop running on everything out there. Here is what I see: in a few years time, everything will just be the same thing. With the advent of iOS and tablets, computers are starting to look more console like. Consoles on the other hand are adding browsers, media streaming, DLC, indie games... it's all starting to get indistinguishable. Money always wins, so my guess is that they won't ever truly unify because it justifies more sales if they don't. I'll tell you though, I don't see myself buying a new console any time soon. I think I'd rather invest that money in something I have a bit more control over.
jdodson: I agree with you on wanting more control. With the push to app stores do you think the gaming landscape is getting more open?
Tungsten: It is very nice that I can, right now, open up Steam or Live, and buy games that some guy down the street made. Look at Minecraft or (insert other example, I can't think of one right now), but with the new level of accessibility we can get innovation and ideas to an industry that puts out a new roster for Madden every year and calls it a game.
jdodson: What is the current/last gen console you use or like the most? XBox 360? PS3?
Tungsten: I really enjoyed my XBOX 360. Live works like a charm. Even coming back to PC, where online multi-player really started, seemed slow and clunky in comparison. It amazes me when huge titles don't come with voice support, while any little XBOX game can pull it off with no trouble at all. Game wise, it all got muddled after a while. That's what drew me in to the PC again: I have more titles to choose from, usually for cheaper, and they look better. Look at something like SpaceChem, my favorite game of (last year? two years ago?): that sort of thing, at least at this time, is only happening on PC.
jdodson: From all the rumblings you have heard about the next gen consoles what is something you heard you don't like? Something you did like?
Tungsten: Well, the Wii-U holds no interest for me whatsoever. I wasn't too happy with what they did with Kinect on the 360, so I have doubts about that future. (Seriously, you have something that can track objects in 3D and the best you can do is simple gestures that would have been easier with a button? I really just wanted an FPS where I could lean and the screen would lean with me. Is that too much to ask?). Sony has a lot to prove after losing ground to Microsoft, so I would expect them to come out with something solid.
jdodson: I agree with you now, the Wii U doesn't interest me either. I like the HD graphics, but to be fair, I didn't mind the graphics of the Wii. They were a bit fuzzy, but I didn't come to the Wii for that kind of game. You seem to have skipped the PS3 I wonder why that was?
Tungsten: I never put more than 2 hours into one, so, in my own personal gaming landscape, it doesn't exist. I really would love to play few games on it some time: Uncharted, Dust 514, Metal Gear. I've just never had the chance.
jdodson: 3 new Hobbit Movies. Hot or not? I don't know why but I have to write "3 MORE HOBBIT MOVIES" in all caps.
Tungsten: 2 months ago I would have said 'not', but after a few trailers I think that I could use three such movies. Oddly enough, here's what I'm most excited about: singing dwarves. I know it's odd, but the singing was such a big part of the books and it all disappeared from the first set of movies. If I only get one song per movie, I think I'll be satisfied.
jdodson: If Peter Jackson can tap more into that element of the books I will be happy too. The Hobbit is my most beloved book of all time so when they said they would split it in three my already hesitant mind went to a worse place. I had some time to sort of take it all in and have come out on a positive note. I really enjoyed looking forward to a new Lord of the Rings movie in December and for the next three years we will have Hobbits again each year. I can get excited about that even if it isn't everything I want.
With Jackson's push into the realm of 48 frames per second... well do you think this will bring us to a new "HD" movie territory or make it look too foreign?
Tungsten: I think that I will personally pretend to like it for about a year before finally giving up and admitting that it makes me want to vomit.
jdodson: I recently got Minecraft and all I seem to do is farm wheat and breed Cows and Sheep. Well that and chop down trees. I just built a tree house. I am not sure this is a question.
Tungsten: Here is what I do: wander until I find something cool. Build a portal to the nether. Build a portal out of the nether. End up somewhere else and I have no clue where. Rinse, repeat.
jdodson: I should try this. I haven't built a nether portal yet, I should look up the recipe.
Tungsten: 10 blocks obsidian arranged in a doorway pattern. Then you light the bottom two block on fire with a flint.
jdodson: Cheerful Ghost has around for almost a year now. What would you want to see it do if you could have it do something different?
Tungsten: Merge a few things. Don't have a separate "games" section. Instead, just have the "write about" list become the "games list" and have write about become the top option. What I love about the site, is that you really start to get to know the people who post, even if it is just through a few words at a time. I would love another way to connect with them, perhaps through personal pages (like games pages, but for each member instead. Shoot that's starting to sound like face-book. Don't do that, they'll sue). I do think that the site needs to be more... broad... not in its content but in its structure. If that ever happens, I would love the ability to follow people's comments, connect in games, and even chat with them.
jdodson: Max Payne 3 is on sale during Steams Autumn Sale for $15. Is this a must buy or is it fine I wait for it to be in a larger sale pack during a future sale?
Tungsten: I don't know... It's really good, but I don't think that waiting 2 months is going to hurt it much. I guess it depends when you're going to have the free time, because it really is a game that should have at least a couple hours to a play session so that you can keep the story intact.
No matter what though, get it. Other than Red-Dead Revolver, it is the best Rockstar game.
jdodson: Read-Dead Revolver? I just checked that game only has a PS2 and XBox port, without a PC port these kinds of games get a pretty limited life. What made Read-Dead Revolver so awesome to you?
Tungsten: Typo: Red Dead Redemption.
jdodson: What video game character from your childhood do you think is the coolest?
Tungsten: Bowie from Shining Force 2 was a badass, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Luigi from Super Mario Brothers 2. Oh, and I can't leave out Cecil and Kain from FFII (or FFIV if you're a hipster). I even suggested Cecil as a name for our first child if it was a boy. (It wasn't.)
jdodson: Recently I had to switch my brain to call Final Fantasy 2 IV and 3 VI. I bow to the hipsters I am tired of getting corrected :D
Tungsten: All I know is that when I want to my friends house and he was playing THE BEST GAME EVER it said Final Fantasy 3 on the box. If you grew up playing an import copy, then call it 6, more power to you.
jdodson: Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis?
Tungsten: Super Nintendo. Final Fantasy > Phantasy Star. Mario > Sonic. Metroid > everything else. (Honorable mention: Herzog Zwei on the Genesis was one of the great games of my child-hood.)
jdodson: You have played a lot of Diablo 3. From your perspective now, what keeps you interested in the game? What could they add or change to make the game better in your opinion?
Tungsten: I love the grind. I don't know why. It almost feels like a job some times, and I think I shouldn't like that... but I do. It's also been fun to watch it change as the patches come out, almost like Minecraft was in its beta days. I think it's the promise of that Legendary Drop worth 500,000,000 gold that brings me back, almost like gambling where I get to crush demons along the way.
jdodson: What's the most epic drop you got?
Tungsten: Ya, about that... I never got anything all that good. I don't know why, but the Diablo god's never deigned to deliver unto me anything worth more than 1-mil or so gold, and in today's market, that isn't anything.
jdodson: Indiana Jones 4. He rode a fridge. Shia Labeouf played Tarzan with monkeys. Aliens. Again, I am not sure this is a question.
Tungsten: You know what... never saw it. I blame this whole thing on George Lucas (and you Mr. Spielberg for listening to him). Keep that man away from everything I love please. I'm calling it here: the Disney Star Wars movies will be at least 10 times better than the previous three. I think that he gets confused as to why people like movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones: it's because, while watching them, for just that moment, we feel like we're Harrison Ford, shooting Nazis and Aliens. Stop trying to fulfill your vision Mr. Lucas! Fulfill ours!
This holiday season? Some awesome person got me Borderlands 2 on PC so I have been playing that! The graphics are stellar on the PC. Anyone get anything awesome as a gift or from the Steam Sale they are enjoying?
It's fairly rainy in Oregon so it's a good time for some gaming!
Awesome picture above by ivanparas
http://www.reddit.com/user/ivanparas
It's fairly rainy in Oregon so it's a good time for some gaming!
Awesome picture above by ivanparas
http://www.reddit.com/user/ivanparas
12 years ago I got Warcraft III as a gift for Christmas. After I got it I immediately started playing it for the remainder of the holiday break. The game experience was so awesome for me that for the last few years around the holidays I have wanted to play Warcraft III again. Somehow when the Christmas tree goes up, my mind returns to Arthas epic struggle as a Paladin to Death Knight. I need to aquire Frostmorne and see his turn to a lieutenant of the Undead all the way to becoming their leader. Its just one of those odd things I associate with the holidays.
That all said, a few days ago I dusted off Warcraft III and have started playing though the campaign and have finished the human section and am starting on the Undead missions now. I remember how awesome it was to see Arthas turn 12 years ago and whereas the game looks a bit aged now, its still fun and all I remember loving about it is still present. I like the story of the Human Campaign but as a race, they are my least favorite.
The game is fairly inexpensive now as you can get the Warcraft III Battle Chest for less than $20 and if you like strategy games you could do worse. The game editor spawned many tower defense maps and one such map, Defense of the Ancients of DoTA started an entirely new genre of MOBA games seen in such greats as League of Legends and DoTA 2.
So ho, ho, ho and all that Undead awesomeness, because its Christmas and time for some Warcraft III.
That all said, a few days ago I dusted off Warcraft III and have started playing though the campaign and have finished the human section and am starting on the Undead missions now. I remember how awesome it was to see Arthas turn 12 years ago and whereas the game looks a bit aged now, its still fun and all I remember loving about it is still present. I like the story of the Human Campaign but as a race, they are my least favorite.
The game is fairly inexpensive now as you can get the Warcraft III Battle Chest for less than $20 and if you like strategy games you could do worse. The game editor spawned many tower defense maps and one such map, Defense of the Ancients of DoTA started an entirely new genre of MOBA games seen in such greats as League of Legends and DoTA 2.
So ho, ho, ho and all that Undead awesomeness, because its Christmas and time for some Warcraft III.
It may come as a surprise to some, but when I was a wee lad I loved video games. I played many amazing games on my NES and DOS Tandy computer. ZZT, Commander Keen, Zelda & Metal Gear were a few gems. When I was in the 7th grade one of my best friends Jason had a Mac. It was pretty amazing as it supported a ton of colors, had a really awesome sound card and I remember when his parents bought him a external hard-drive that was about 150 megs. He had a version of Wolfenstein 3D that graphically blew away the DOS version. He also had a space game I hadn't heard of before called Spaceward Ho!
Immediately I was drawn into Spaceward Ho! as it was one of the first turn based strategy games I was ever exposed to. In Spaceward Ho! you control the economy and military muscle of a space race. You explore and colonize planets, research and build space ships and acquire metal and cash. One stand out feature of Spaceward Ho! is the games simplicity. Not having 50,000 options means the game is boiled down to allow a quicker and more strategic game.
Over the years I have tried to get a version of Spaceward Ho! running on any platform I could. In High School I nabbed a DOS/Windows port. At University I played it on my color Palm Pilot. And recently I bought it on the iPhone. After a spending a few minutes acclimating myself to the port I was immersed back into the awesomeness that is Spaceward Ho! The game is still fresh and everything I loved about it is still present, 22 years later.
For the last few games I have played I have dropped to a small galaxy and go against one computer player. I am trying out quicker games to focus my strategy to improve my win chances in a larger galaxy. I may in depth in a later post on strategy but suffice it to say, I am having a lot of fun.
I recently emailed Ariton, the company working on the modern versions of Spaceward Ho! and they nicely hooked me up with Peter Commons, the original developer of Spaceward Ho! Peter and I are trading around emails discussing his involvement with Spaceward Ho! and I am really excited to bring it to you the interview when its finished. The folks at Ariton also agreed to answering some interview questions about the modern Spaceward Ho! incarnations so that will be coming as well.
Its totally awesome to be able to experience an awesome classic game on a new platform and triply rad to be able to talk to the people that made it!
*The screen grab above is from a recent small galaxy short game I completed.
http://ariton.com/
Immediately I was drawn into Spaceward Ho! as it was one of the first turn based strategy games I was ever exposed to. In Spaceward Ho! you control the economy and military muscle of a space race. You explore and colonize planets, research and build space ships and acquire metal and cash. One stand out feature of Spaceward Ho! is the games simplicity. Not having 50,000 options means the game is boiled down to allow a quicker and more strategic game.
Over the years I have tried to get a version of Spaceward Ho! running on any platform I could. In High School I nabbed a DOS/Windows port. At University I played it on my color Palm Pilot. And recently I bought it on the iPhone. After a spending a few minutes acclimating myself to the port I was immersed back into the awesomeness that is Spaceward Ho! The game is still fresh and everything I loved about it is still present, 22 years later.
For the last few games I have played I have dropped to a small galaxy and go against one computer player. I am trying out quicker games to focus my strategy to improve my win chances in a larger galaxy. I may in depth in a later post on strategy but suffice it to say, I am having a lot of fun.
I recently emailed Ariton, the company working on the modern versions of Spaceward Ho! and they nicely hooked me up with Peter Commons, the original developer of Spaceward Ho! Peter and I are trading around emails discussing his involvement with Spaceward Ho! and I am really excited to bring it to you the interview when its finished. The folks at Ariton also agreed to answering some interview questions about the modern Spaceward Ho! incarnations so that will be coming as well.
Its totally awesome to be able to experience an awesome classic game on a new platform and triply rad to be able to talk to the people that made it!
*The screen grab above is from a recent small galaxy short game I completed.
http://ariton.com/
Our friends over at Starcrafts cooked up a fun Christmas special!
If you haven't tried Starcraft 2 yet, I recommend you get the Starter Edition:
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/3250656
Not only is it free, but Blizzard has opened up even more multiplayer maps in this version. The cool feature? You can play multiplayer with people that have the full edition! @panickedthumb and I have been talking about playing SC2 for the next game event because of this, so download the starter edition and give it a shot!
If you haven't tried Starcraft 2 yet, I recommend you get the Starter Edition:
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/3250656
Not only is it free, but Blizzard has opened up even more multiplayer maps in this version. The cool feature? You can play multiplayer with people that have the full edition! @panickedthumb and I have been talking about playing SC2 for the next game event because of this, so download the starter edition and give it a shot!
Hey everyone. After collecting all the entries for this years Game of the Year, I have them now in poll form for you to vote on. Thanks to everyone that added games to the list.
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=50d6571ce4b091229a56c192
Please select your top 5 and the winner will be the highest voted game. I will also list out the others so we all know how it turned out.
Voting will be open today until December 31st and feel free to share this out with your friends!
*Yeah I linked the same video again, its totally awesome.
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=50d6571ce4b091229a56c192
Please select your top 5 and the winner will be the highest voted game. I will also list out the others so we all know how it turned out.
Voting will be open today until December 31st and feel free to share this out with your friends!
*Yeah I linked the same video again, its totally awesome.
http://store.steampowered.com/
We all know there is a mega-ultra-deluxe Holiday Steam Sale going on now. I am sure a few of you already dropped some coins on it. I am sure some of your even checked out the Bethesda pack which is so epically sick at $90 if you buy it you might contract pneumonia. *ZING*
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/18743/
But we already know that, this is old news. But I needed to get that out of the way because tomorrow is supposed to be the end of the world. Since it's the end of the world and we are going to be dead tomorrow sometime, shouldn't someone buy every game in Steam? I mean, that's some kind of achievement right? I mean the world is ending so its not a big deal right?
I mean if someone, you know, bought a ton of games and just racked up a huge tab on his Visa EXPECTING the end of the world, that would be all right... right? I mean, I didn't do that, heh... yeah.
I mean, right, unless its not the end of the world and I have to pay it off. But then again, HEY I have a huge backlog of games... Ill.... never... finish...
But it won't matter because, hey tomorrow, that whole everyone dying thing... right?
We all know there is a mega-ultra-deluxe Holiday Steam Sale going on now. I am sure a few of you already dropped some coins on it. I am sure some of your even checked out the Bethesda pack which is so epically sick at $90 if you buy it you might contract pneumonia. *ZING*
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/18743/
But we already know that, this is old news. But I needed to get that out of the way because tomorrow is supposed to be the end of the world. Since it's the end of the world and we are going to be dead tomorrow sometime, shouldn't someone buy every game in Steam? I mean, that's some kind of achievement right? I mean the world is ending so its not a big deal right?
I mean if someone, you know, bought a ton of games and just racked up a huge tab on his Visa EXPECTING the end of the world, that would be all right... right? I mean, I didn't do that, heh... yeah.
I mean, right, unless its not the end of the world and I have to pay it off. But then again, HEY I have a huge backlog of games... Ill.... never... finish...
But it won't matter because, hey tomorrow, that whole everyone dying thing... right?
I have wanted to play Dragon Age: Origins since it was released in 2009 but I haven't picked it up till recently. I only recently got a good gaming PC so when the game dropped in 2009 I would have picked it up on PS3. I heard the console versions of Dragon Age: Origins were not awesome and the PC port was much better so I waited to pick it up. During the last Steam sale I noticed it was $8.99 so I picked it up and all the DLC it was launched with.
Dragon Age: Origins is a more unique RPG in that each Class and Race has a unique starting Origin. I created an Elf Mage and my starting Origin story brought me to the Mages circle.
Visually the game reminds me of Neverwinter Nights and has a similar feel and tone to it. Having full voice acting for all the characters and dialog trees is nice as Neverwinter only had voice acting for part of the game. The graphics are very good and the UI is pretty easy to navigate as well. One thing I noticed right away about DAO is that there is much more dialog present than is typical in games I play. The game also presents you with many choices as well. Its not entirely clear what all the choices allow you or change in the game, but its nice to be able to control if your character is an asshole or not.
A few times I was presented with choices(I won't get into spoiler territory) I wasn't comfortable with any of the options. I picked the option that seemed best and didn't love the direction I had to go. It was odd as typically in games they present you with the OBVIOUS evil choice and OBVIOUS good choice but in DAO sometimes you just have choices. The choice I ended up making was seemed like a good one, but, again I wasn't entirely comfortable with it.
The game offers some interesting play style in that you can pause the game to scan the battle-scape and setup your characters next moves. I ran into the fight with the first mini boss without using the pause method and was handily defeated. During my second take I paused it right away and was a bit more strategic and was able to take down the boss easily.
So far I have really enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins and if you are looking for a good RPG that isn't too expensive, I recommend you check it out.
Dragon Age: Origins is a more unique RPG in that each Class and Race has a unique starting Origin. I created an Elf Mage and my starting Origin story brought me to the Mages circle.
Visually the game reminds me of Neverwinter Nights and has a similar feel and tone to it. Having full voice acting for all the characters and dialog trees is nice as Neverwinter only had voice acting for part of the game. The graphics are very good and the UI is pretty easy to navigate as well. One thing I noticed right away about DAO is that there is much more dialog present than is typical in games I play. The game also presents you with many choices as well. Its not entirely clear what all the choices allow you or change in the game, but its nice to be able to control if your character is an asshole or not.
A few times I was presented with choices(I won't get into spoiler territory) I wasn't comfortable with any of the options. I picked the option that seemed best and didn't love the direction I had to go. It was odd as typically in games they present you with the OBVIOUS evil choice and OBVIOUS good choice but in DAO sometimes you just have choices. The choice I ended up making was seemed like a good one, but, again I wasn't entirely comfortable with it.
The game offers some interesting play style in that you can pause the game to scan the battle-scape and setup your characters next moves. I ran into the fight with the first mini boss without using the pause method and was handily defeated. During my second take I paused it right away and was a bit more strategic and was able to take down the boss easily.
So far I have really enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins and if you are looking for a good RPG that isn't too expensive, I recommend you check it out.
I have to do you a favor. You need to konw about the latest Humble Indie Bundle 7. The latest Bundle is mind blowing and wraps up these awesome games:
Oh right and if you pay above the average you get Dungeon Defenders + DLC and Legend of Grimrock. Oh right and all the soundtracks in MP3 + FLAC + Steam Keys and all that works on Win, Mac & Linux.
The only of the above games I have is Isaac and this adds the Wrath of the Lamb DLC, something I have wanted to get, so ... awesome bonus!
http://www.humblebundle.com/
- Snapshot
- The Binding of Isaac + Wrath of Lamb DLC
- Closure
- Indie Game: The Movie
- Shank 2
Oh right and if you pay above the average you get Dungeon Defenders + DLC and Legend of Grimrock. Oh right and all the soundtracks in MP3 + FLAC + Steam Keys and all that works on Win, Mac & Linux.
The only of the above games I have is Isaac and this adds the Wrath of the Lamb DLC, something I have wanted to get, so ... awesome bonus!
http://www.humblebundle.com/