jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Recently put this up at my house. I took a picture at a

Recently put this up at my house. I took a picture at a time to chart my progress.

Here are the steps to create a post it note 8bit Link on your wall:

1. Figure out what 8-bit creation you want on your wall.
2. Buy post-it notes, realize they cost WAY more than they should in the store.
3. Buy them anyway, its art baby!
4. Get the picture on your smartphone or print it(like its 2002 inkjet style)
5. Put up one post-it, snap a pic
6. Put up a few more
7. Snap a pic
8. Screw up a bit, start over again
9. Snap a pic
10. Realize half way you were over a few centimeters and try to backpedal
11. Snap a pic
12. Get really close and get really excited because this looks really bad ass
13. Snap a pic
14. Finish and post to awesome game site and share with your friends
15. Snap a pic

Its just 15 easy steps and you too can have an awesome 8-bit post-it note creation on your wall!

P.S.

Ive played through the original Legend of Zelda many times and I always preferred the blue ring link to the other styles. I also didn't have a great brown post-it color so I picked red and think Link is better served as a ginger with what I had to work with.

Wondered a bit how everyones game habits have changed over

Wondered a bit how everyone's game habits have changed over time. Lately ive noticed that time is harder to come by so my game habits have migrated quite a bit to mobile games.

Just a few years ago I could spend a few hours here and there playing any ol game. Weekends were pretty lean, so I easily delved into Fallout 3, Halflife 2 and every expansion. I played through many other games as well and some weekends I could knock out 6 hours or more. Finding that lately having that kind of game time has evaporated due to being busy with this or that.

I told myself that I wouldn't sink money into iPhone games. I just don't generally find them more fun than console or PC games. That said, I started buying some games and playing many more free ones. Its not that I am starting to prefer a touch screen over a keyboard and mouse or a controller, I just have less and less free time these days.

Right before bed or a lunch break are much more common times for me to play and the phone seems to fit that use-case more than a Playstation or PC. Haven't realized how long a console game takes to load until you compare it to a iPhone game. When you only get 30 minutes to an hour to play, 3 - 4 minutes to load the game matters. I mean, if I only have 30 minutes to play thats 10% of the time to boot a console, start the game and load a save. 3 minutes may be on the high end, but still, its significant compared to a mobile device.

All that said, some mobile games are pretty stellar such as Plants VS Zombies and Sword and Sworcery(Ill post about this one later, its superb) and a few others I have yet to try. But I still dream on the PC or Console but that may slowly change as time ever marches onward.

Do you still game as you once did or have things changed a bit over time for you?

Timogorgon wrote on 03/27/2012 at 05:42pm

Off topic: Cool, I see the general discussion thing is up now! Awesome :D

Back to topic: My gaming habits have changed pretty drastically. Back in high school it was pretty common that my friends and I would spend entire weekends playing games. Now with work, school, and kids I don't really get to play games as much as I would like. Plus I can't really play a game like Fallout in front of my 3 year old, so I have to wait until they go to bed before I can play a lot of games.

Because my time is pretty limited I've noticed I mostly play games I can pick up and put down very easily. Anything on my PSP (especially now that I hacked it to play PS1 games :) ) is great because I can suspend my game anytime.

The types of games I play also has shifted. As far as any new games go, I find I get more enjoyment out of smaller games that won't take me several months to complete. I love Fallout 3, but I have been working on that game for almost a year now. Smaller games (in terms of hours of play) like Portal or Ben There Dan That are great for me because I know I'll actually be able to finish them.

I've also noticed that I play a lot of older games I'm already familiar with. I use my hacked Wii more as a NES/Gameboy/SNES emulator than I do for actual Wii games. When I only have an hour to play I have no idea if I can even really do anything in a new game, but I know how far I can get in Earthbound or FF7.

And you can forget MMO's. There's no way I can justify paying a monthly sub for a game I won't get to play enough to accomplish anything. :)

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/28/2012 at 01:36am

Off topic: Yeah it is cool, I realized its way better than "Cheerful Ghost." I think people understand "General Discussion."

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/28/2012 at 01:39am

I hear you on MMO's. I recently tried Star Trek online. Besides not being very fun and hard to play... Well I guess thats where my mini review of that games ends. :) Cool its free to play.

Been wanting to go through an old game and sort of journal/blog it for quite sometime now. Secret of Mana comes to mind as a game to do that with. Damn that would be fun.

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A few months ago I tried Tiny Tower and deleted it pretty

A few months ago I tried Tiny Tower and deleted it pretty quick. Didn't seem too interesting to me at the time. After hearing @Tungsten recommend, I installed it again.

Above I stitched together screen-shots of my Tower. I like that you can rename businesses whatever you want. The movie and video game store is named "Cheerful Ghost" and I named the cake store "The Cake is a Lie." I like that simple customization to your Tower. As you can see, I haven't quite come to name the new businesses at the top yet.

I generally never allow my apps to notify me when they have new business, but for this app I let it notify me for a few days with updates so I could build my tower at a regular pace.

Not playing it quite as heavy as I was but I still keep the Tower businesses stocked and move people up and down the floors. One interesting feature is the Bitbook where you can see what your residents are doing. Fun to see what they are posting, often times its not game related but interesting.

At Spirit Mountain w @Adym. Roullette is awesome, not

At Spirit Mountain w @Adym. Roullette is awesome, not terribly lucky with it but it's fun.

Seems to be more themed Lord Of The Rings and Star Trek games than usual. I seem to be more and more of a target audience now. Noticed that with the Star Trek slot William Shatner lent his voice for it as well as Leonard Nimoy.

I am really excited about a few games coming out. Diablo 3,

http://www.dota2-utilities.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DOTA-2-3rd-February-2012.jpg

I am really excited about a few games coming out. Diablo 3, Borderlands 2 and DoTA 2. I played the original DoTA at University in the CS lab and it was awesome. Ill readily admit I wasn't any good nor am I still, but I find the game to be quite a bit of fun.

I am excited for bots in DoTA 2. Reason is, im not terribly great at these games and don't plan on being the best but want to have fun. Bots for these kinds of games allow me to, you know, like actually play them and have fun. A problem with DoTA is that the second I start downloading the map I get kicked from War 3 for being a "newb." The other issue is if I get into a match and suck I get trashed talked by children. I don't mind trash talk but it can often make a game un-radsome.

That said, playing DoTA with friends and occasionally online sounds awesome. It will also be cool because I believe it will bring over the League of Legends and Demigod players to allow for a really large game community. I just hope, when it emerges its worth existing in. That or they allow me to turn voice chat off :)

I recently read the DoTA 2 comic "Are we Hero's Yet" on my iPhone. The art is super high res and the story is very well done. Cool to see Valve release comics before a game launch, the Portal 2 comic is, in my mind a fantastic story on its own. Really adds to the depth of a world when you have all these different angles on its universe. I hope, as with Portal 2, the soundtrack is made available for free.

to read online:

http://www.dota2.com/comics/are_we_heroes_yet/?l=english

or to just straight up download the pdf:

http://www.dota2.com/comics/are_we_heroes_yet/extras/

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/22/2012 at 09:45pm

Ok, total noob question: What's DoTA stand for?

Tungsten wrote on 03/23/2012 at 01:56am

Defenders of the Ancients?

Something like that. I never played it myself, just a bunch of clones. It was kind of fun, but I've always wanted either something faster paced.

That said, I'm a bit of a Valve fanboy right now, so they could release a steaming pile of crap and I'd buy it.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/23/2012 at 02:02am

Yeah, Defense of the Ancients.

And I agree, I think I'd buy anything Valve as well. They just seem to release awesome stuff.

Tungsten wrote on 03/23/2012 at 02:19am

Did you see those Gabe Newell Stickers someone put up all over GDC? I want one.

http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/photo-m.phtml?post_key=223364&photo_key=216966

The promise that somewhere in that potent gaze lays half life episode 3... shudder...

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/23/2012 at 02:23am

I saw those, they are cool. In a way.

On one hand people on the net seem to worship Gabe Newell. That doesn't seem horrible I guess as Valve with gaben at the wheel is doing amazing work. Then again, is it awesome to have yourself appear like that everywhere? Im not sure. Its cool to be adored but then again... ?

Tungsten wrote on 03/24/2012 at 03:42am

Gabe just seems to honestly want to make good games. The way he talks about actually reading all of the e-mails he gets from fans, or dressing up and taking a promo pic with the portal gun. I doubt he's really a wonderful sack of butterflies in real life, but his company has made at least 3 of the best games of all time, with several honorable mentions to go along with them.

He's like the thinking man's Cliff Bleszinski, or the dumb guy's Sid Meyer.

That said, I do think them trying to get the rights to the name "Defense of the Ancients" is a bit hinkey.

http://www.gosugamers.net/dota/news/18555-blizzard-challenges-valve-s-dota-copyright

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/24/2012 at 07:41am

Yeah, DoTA was a community thing. They did hire the lead developer so I imagine some ownership transferred. I wonder if the DoTA dev had a trademark?

I agree it's a strange case that isn't terribly clear.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/24/2012 at 07:41am

To me anyway.

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Blizzard Entertainment is offering a series of special

http://hothardware.com/articleimages/item1817/big_wow_front.jpg

"Blizzard Entertainment is offering a series of special charity auctions featuring server hardware originally used during World of Warcraft’s early days. We’ve since upgraded the game’s infrastructure with the latest technology to offer an even better player experience, but these 'honorably discharged' server blades are now unique collectors’ pieces. The net proceeds from the auction will go to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital."

Totally awesome to get your hands on one of these servers. For the plaque and historical nature alone. I imagine they wipe the drives before they ship them though :)

source:

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Reitred-World-of-Warcraft-Server-in-Pictures/

Claptrap just wrote all PC gamers a love letter outlining

Claptrap just wrote all PC gamers a love letter outlining what 2K plans to do for the console version of Borderlands 2. Its significant and it seems like they are treating PC gamers like they should, it seems the Borderlands 2 port won't be a hacked up console game.

http://www.borderlands2.com/loveletter?x

I am actually considering if PS3 is now the best choice or not, the PC list of features seems pretty awesome. I find it heartening to see companies actually caring about PC gamers again. Awesome trend.

The one feature of the PS3, allowing split screen multi-player with my friends is a hard feature to pass up, but the PC only features are really great too.

Tungsten wrote on 03/17/2012 at 07:58pm

Steam has been great. It's DRM that gamers don't seem to mind. Combine that with Steam Workshop, Steam Sales, easy social/multiplayer capabilities, and it really is a win-win-win.

Borderlands is going to be good: I loved the first one, and it looks like this one is going to be better. Remember, the last one almost got scrapped at one point, and it had a major makeover before being released. This time, they know what they're making from the beginning, and I think they can really emphasize what made the first one great, and fixing what made the first one extremely frustrating at times.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/18/2012 at 01:00am

I am not sure id call the digital download locker that is steam DRM. Some games on Steam may have DRM, but that doesn't mean they all do, like Halflife 2 for instance.

I think that having a serious online component to a game doesn't equal DRM. It just means the game is meant to be seriously played online.

I didn't know Borderlands was almost scrapped, cool thing they stuck to it and made it awesome, the game is still great.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/18/2012 at 01:02am

Some people have said the Diablo 3 online only requirement is DRM, I don't think it is. Its just a game where they want online to be a major component of it. Its actually a cool thing in my mind that when I am playing Diablo 3 I can see if my friends are and we can chat and join each other if we want.

I am so old school if I had a choice I wouldn't go online and then I would miss out on an opportunity to play with them. Happened a few times in SC2 and it was fun.

Tungsten wrote on 03/18/2012 at 07:18am

The Diablo thing actually became a big pain for me while playing the beta. My connection can be iffy at times, and every once in a while, the game played like it was lagging. I was the only player in the game! That's not to mention when it just booted me entirely.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/18/2012 at 04:12pm

Ah yeah, that would he a problem. I imagine they are sorting out battle.net issues but if you connection is flakey? That would be bad.

I think they can sort out the battle.net issues cause I've played WoW and SC2 and it's never been a problem for me yet. Don't play them all the time though.

Tungsten wrote on 03/19/2012 at 03:19am

I have faith in Blizzard.

I stopped pirating games long ago, but even now, does it seem like DRM actually stops anyone? From what I can tell, the only people it affects are those who go for the legal copy. 10 minutes after the thing is released, some on has a hacked exe with a keygen ready to go, DRM completely stripped. Shoot, more than once I've been tempted to use a pirated version of a game that I already own just to get around obnoxious installation quotas and disc/internet connection requirements.

I love the minecraft model: pay for the game once and we'll just keep making it better, but that isn't really practical for all games.

Tungsten wrote on 03/19/2012 at 03:23am

The original borderlands was a good example: the normal version of the game is relativley light on the DRM, but the second 2 DLC packs have securom. Not only are the limited number of installations obnoxious, but the software itself is buggy, and can often screw you out of the game just because it doesn't like your optical drive or some other running process.

I have the GOTY Borderlands on my PC, but I never installed those DLC packs because of the securom (that and I got it on Steam Sale, I never really seem to follow through on those things)

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/19/2012 at 05:10am

Yikes. Securom is lame, hopefully in Borderlands 2 they left it out!

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 03/19/2012 at 05:10am

And I don't pirate games either, its not really worth it games are not too expensive and the amount of free stuff is pretty staggering. Mostly I just need more time :)

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Figured it would be good to ring in Saint Patricks Day with

Figured it would be good to ring in Saint Patricks Day with a free phone & tablet game for Android and iOS called Lep's World. Yeah, the name ain't great but the game is pretty fun.

The game is a serious clone of Super Mario Brothers. Its cool because as I play Lep's World I am reminded how much I love Super Mario Brothers and how much I want to play it on my iPhone.

Lep's World is a side scroller where you are a Leprechaun trying to collect your lost coins from your pot of gold. Instead of the Leprechaun getting a fire flower, he can collect acorns he can throw at enemies. In the typical Mario fashion, Lep can hit bad guys on the head. Some enemies have spikes so the only way to dispatch them is to shoot them with an acorn.

100 coins nets you an extra life and points can get gained by hitting blocks and killing enemies. One difference in Lep's World is that you have a life meter of three shamrocks you can refill by finding other shamrocks that move very similarly to mushrooms. Another difference is when you stomp on the grubs that operate a bit like a Goomba they leave behind a coin, acorn or shamrock. Nice.

At the end of each main stage is a castle level and I expected a boss fight a the end themed appropriately. Unfortunately there was no Leprechaun Bowser.

Level 2.1 starts off strangely by you being chased by a hornet and becomes a runner game. So far, it was just level 2.1 and the level wasn't hard it was just out of place. Kind of adds to the games charm, if not a totally random addition.

Many of the sound effects seem to be lifted straight out of Zelda. When you pick up a pot of gold it sounds eerilly like when you pickup an item in Zelda. Many of the other sound effects seem like other Zelda effects as well. Fun to hear them, they really brought me back to the old days.

Overall this game is a huge Mario clone but that didn't bother me as it was so much fun and most of all its totally free. Have a great Saint Patricks Day this weekend and if you want to increase your mood for green, snag Lep's World.

Blizzard just dropped the launch date for Diablo 3 of May

Blizzard just dropped the launch date for Diablo 3 of May 15th. Pre-order already made and I am marking my calendar.

Is this a game on your radar?

News:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2012/03/diablo-iii-launching-may-15/1

http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/games/d3/

BioShock is one of those games that builds a world you feel

BioShock is one of those games that builds a world you feel immersed in from the start. Playing the game I really got into the character and mood of the game and it was very creepy. As far as the start to a game goes, BioShock does it better than most ive experienced. I started with the PS3 demo and then was given the full meal deal from a friend on my cake day.

100% full disclosure, ive never completed it. I haven't completed it because I can only play it in 10-20 minute increments. The game looks fantastic, has a interesting plot device and the game mechanics are good its just that ... I don't want to exist in that world doing that stuff very long. I find it interesting enough, the political flavor and spin, its just that I don't want to be in a game world where bloody ranting lunatics are trying to kill me every waking second. The game is like a Halloween Haunted House for most of the game it seems and my personal style dictates I only visit Haunted Houses on occasion.

Its unfortunate because this game has such a strong following and they have said how rad the entire game was and the story that took them through it. Then again, I will most likely finish the game, it will just take me 50,000 10 minute sessions.

Anyone interested in SkyoShock aka BioShock Infinite? That game doesn't look quite as "psycho clown circus" but it does seem to still have some insane elements.

jdodson1

2423 Posts

Recently put this up at my house. I took a picture at a

Wondered a bit how everyones game habits have changed over

A few months ago I tried Tiny Tower and deleted it pretty

At Spirit Mountain w @Adym. Roullette is awesome, not

I am really excited about a few games coming out. Diablo 3,

Blizzard Entertainment is offering a series of special

Claptrap just wrote all PC gamers a love letter outlining

Figured it would be good to ring in Saint Patricks Day with

Blizzard just dropped the launch date for Diablo 3 of May

BioShock is one of those games that builds a world you feel

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