Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Gabe Newell: Reflections of a Video Game Maker

Very cool talk Gabe Newell of Valve gave at The LBJ School of public affairs. 9 minutes in and HAD to share this!

What do you think about his thoughts on economics? Found it really interesting some artists have "real jobs" at big game studios but make more money selling hats in TF2. I agree with him, post-internet many corporations are changing for sure!

krcDeuce Supporter wrote on 02/07/2013 at 03:51pm

Where Gabe gets me thinking about myself is more in relationship to my role in a company or a team. Sometimes I think of myself as my title, and not the collection of all the things I'm capable of. Sure, I'm good with systems and networks, but I can also do some programming, and maybe some graphic art, or definitely playing or engineering music. So, why do I continue to respond to things with, "that's not my job"? I'm bigger than my title.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/08/2013 at 02:08am

I think we are what we do and what we can accomplish. Before last January I wasn't a game writer or someone that interviewed people in the industry. Now I am.

krcDeuce Supporter wrote on 03/05/2013 at 09:44pm

That's how I'm getting myself thinking too. Before two months ago I wasn't a game developer. Now I am.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/06/2013 at 02:10am

Totally. Looking forward to what you guys come up with!

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Ur Not A Hero is Violently Awesome

I just played a new game called UrNotAHero by Peanut Butter Fingers. I heard this game buzzing around some Indie Channels and it looked really interesting. It has an almost Bonanza Brothers vibe and after playing it some, it seems to totally be in that style but takes it up 50 notches.

The idea of the game is that you partake in missions where you save hostages, diffuse bombs, steal stuff and kill gangbangers. The play control is rather simple as you can, walk side to side, go up stairs, shoot your gun, slide/duck/take cover and use grenades. The alpha provides quite a lot of gameplay and if you want some really awesome fun, you need to try it. You can alternate between... Read All

New Social Features Overview

To keep the run up to the release of Heart of the Swarm going, Blizzard released another video covering the new social features. Being able to create an in game group or clan is a pretty fun idea. I plan on creating one for Cheerful Ghost for the people that will be playing this at launch.

Community Terraria Server 2.1 Drops February 4th

I am going to run another Cheerful Ghost Terraria game server for us to all play starting next week on the 4th of February 6PM PST. We had such a fun time playing last time and I opened the game up recently and realized it would be run to play with people again.

Like last time I will keep the server up for three weeks and afterward hand out the world file so we can all have it for historical reasons. It will run 24/7 and be locked down for awesome Cheerful Ghost people like you and your friends. We only have a few simple rules, don't mess with other peoples stuff, no stealing, no greifing and have fun.

I created a new large world and the screenshot is above. Like last... Read All

vdogmr25 wrote on 01/31/2013 at 03:12am

Sounds awesome, but I can't jump in this time, though. One of my hard drives crapped out on me, and it will be a month or two until I can replace it.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 03:12am

DUDE YES

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2013 at 03:52am

That sucks. No laptop? Total bummer!

Travis Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 04:10am

It will run on pretty meager hardware if you have an older backup.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 04:14am

Also, good news everyone: it looks like we may get some more content:

http://m.pcgamer.com/2013/01/26/terraria-creator-asks-what-you-would-like-to-see-in-a-possible-update

TonyJapMayo wrote on 01/31/2013 at 05:41am

Ah, I wanna join.. Got Terraria recently but when I tried multiplayer, seems that you have to put ip address and I dont know what to write ><

Travis Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 05:12pm

Tony, you can put in terraria.cheerfulghost.com, but it isn't up yet.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2013 at 05:16pm

Yeah, the server will go live on Monday @ 6PM PST. We will give everyone the password then as well.

TonyJapMayo wrote on 01/31/2013 at 07:25pm

Kewl.. Thanks.. Cant wait to try Multiplayer =P

CapnCurry Supporter wrote on 01/31/2013 at 09:13pm

Awesome! I'm in. :)

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/31/2013 at 09:58pm

I'm going to try and play this time!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2013 at 10:13pm

Awesome, ill remind everyone when the time comes round.

Hopefully we have a full house on game drop. I plan on doing some major surgery to the area around the spawn point when it starts. Make the area mostly flat and then build ZE house.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/01/2013 at 09:45pm

I'll be on, although it'll be after 8pm PST. :)

Last time was awesome, so I can't wait to do this again with you guys!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/01/2013 at 09:47pm

Totally. Ill try and save a bit of the world for you WhiteboySlim, I don't know 2 hours later, it might be strip mined and plotted for commercial by then. Maybe a 4th acre cause were friends.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/01/2013 at 11:52pm

I am so building my base right on top of yours.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/01/2013 at 11:58pm

Then how will it go further up? OK, OK, ill ensure you have space ground up.....

So needy!

Travis Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:09am

We should seriously consider taking a tally of who is going to be on the server and roping off some sections. And leave a few on either end as well.

TonyJapMayo wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:50am

So when can we start this multiplayer? Cant wait to try ><

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 07:21am

@TonyJapMayo, times listed in the post above. Monday at 6pm PST.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 07:24am

@panickedthumb we may have to have people "stake out" areas at first, I will for sure, kind of mark my spot with a sign and some blocks. But I will build a house immediately so :D

But yeah, it seems more people are joining as the word gets out so we can do some "city zoning" to ensure people don't run into each other. :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 07:24am

I am thinking first come first serve, we can go out pretty far for the town I just hope its not so far as to be unfortunate to chop down trees :D And people can build down if they so desire :D

Travis Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 02:38pm

You can always landscape out and expand the forest, so even if tree-chopping is necessary it won't be a bad thing. I wish I had done that in our last world.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:01pm

And we can always have more efficient tree farms as well. They can go up, not just over.

This is going to be awesome, since we learned so much with our last server.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:06pm

It will be awesome. :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 06:55pm

Hey everyone, we are extending the server time to last for three weeks. Yay, more 2D mining and building!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 02/02/2013 at 07:24pm

I don't think we need to worry about running out of space. We are on a large map. As long as people space themselves out a bit we should be good. :)

Plus, if anyone decides to do a large build they can always go underground or build it away from the spawn point.

Tungsten wrote on 02/03/2013 at 04:11am

I'm in. See you there guys.

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Scott Pilgrim gets online play

This expansion has been talked about since August last year, and after a few delays, the Online Multiplayer + Wallace Pack is set to be released on Feb. 6 for XBLA. Sadly, there's no word for the PSN release, but achievements for the DLC are on PSN, so it's likely to happen soon.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-dlc-gets-a-new-release-date-for-the-xbox-360

Thinking About the World of Ruin

To celebrate today's Retro Tuesday I decided to write about an aspect of Final Fantasy VI that I had rolling around in my head. Its odd to remember when I was still surprised by things that happened in video games. One such event happened when Kefka causes the world to become out of balance and it falls into ruin. The sequences as the world breaks were pretty shocking to me. Many people died as the world broke up and I remember being really shocked by the carnage it showed. By today's standards it is pretty tame as it was in glorious 2D, but lately I have been thinking about how powerful that sequence was and how I responded to it at the time.

After that destruction... Read All

Teodor_Spiridon wrote on 01/30/2013 at 06:24pm

I find what you mention to be a recurring trend in FF games, and Japanese sci-fi/fantasy in general. The heroes fight to try and stop the disaster from wrecking the world around them, fail, and must now fight to defeat the enemy anyway. Pick your favorite Anime/Video Game to come out Japan in the last 20 years and it generally ends up with the Kingdom/City/World/Secret Base getting badly damaged by the bad guys before the good guys finally get retribution.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/31/2013 at 01:26am

Interesting. I haven't played a FF game in the last bit so ill take your word for it. Was interested in FF 13 though.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/01/2013 at 11:33pm

FF6 is my favorite game in the series, excepting possibly tactics. We did 2 episodes about it, our first 2 parter, and it holds up so so well. http://duckfeed.tv/woff/10

A quick note: FF6 has a segment I think perfectly encapsulates the best that video games have to offer. The scene where you are exploring the world as Celes after the cataclysm is all elements working in concert in the service of mood.

1) Graphically, the world is darker now. Not so much in the overworld but the towns and bleaker.
2) The music is sad, haunting, vaguely dissonant and memorable.
3) And this is the coup, the gameplay backs it up. The overland enemies are weakened and dying. They start the battles poisoned, you often can't even kill the enemies before they die of the ill defined blight.

Perfect segment in a wonderful game.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 02/02/2013 at 12:00am

Yeah I agree Gary, good points. Its an interesting transition because the game goes from this epic world scale set of events to only being about being on a small island helping your friend survive. Its a really refreshing interlude to the gettin' back to saving the world thing.

Ill checkout those episodes, thanks!

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Next episode of WOFF! is all about game music!

http://a.tgcdn.net/images/products/zoom/a8f6_zelda_ocarina.jpg

Specifically old game music.

Have any stories, opinions, feedback on old video game music and sound? Last generation or before? Please share!

http://duckfeed.tv/contact/

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:19am

Whoa? Thanks for sharing, starting to think about things now.

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:35am

We'll read your stories and play your songs! We just want something substantial about how a piece of music or sound design affected you, contributed to the experience, reinforced the narrative, etc.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:38am

I think I can do that. Already had a few songs in mind for a bit now, so I just need to write it up.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:52am

Rad, when do you need submissions by?

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 01/30/2013 at 02:16am

Thursday, 5pm PST! Thanks, guys!

Travis Admin wrote on 01/30/2013 at 02:24am

Do you want our stories here or through the contact form? Both? Either?

I have a thought.

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 01/30/2013 at 05:08pm

Contact form is easiest for us.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 04:06am

Ok submitted my stuff. 4 songs in total. Hard to nail it down to a few.

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 01/31/2013 at 05:09pm

Sweet, thanks Jon!

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 05:15pm

No problem Gary, it was fun to do. Hard to break it down to a few and it was strange because I had to wrap my mind around "this isn't songs of the year." :D

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/31/2013 at 10:00pm

So far I just submitted one... it's a little obscure, but so rad. I'll see if I can think up anymore before today's deadline!

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 10:14pm

I want to know what one, but I also want to hear the episode and be surprised... :D

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/31/2013 at 10:28pm

It's from a Genesis game! Which just made me think of Sonic the Hedgehog. The music in that game wasn't that memorable, but all the sound effects were! Collecting coins, jumping, busting through things/enemies... for some reasons those sounds make me nostalgic :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/04/2013 at 05:12pm

When will the episode drop?

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 02/04/2013 at 08:43pm

Thursday, listener response episode the following Thursday!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 02/04/2013 at 08:53pm

Sweet :)

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The Moon?!?

I remember the first time I saw FFII over at a friend's house. I had never experienced an RPG before, and the game seemed so huge! And long! And as he told me about the story, I knew I needed to get my hands on this game.

Honestly, I don't remember much of the storyline now (which means it's time to play again!), but what I do remember is the music! The creators of this game did such a fantastic job crafting the perfect video game music. The music fits so well, causing feelings of victory, trepidation, joy, sadness and everything in between. I love going back and listening to it even now!

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 01/29/2013 at 10:43pm

(On a side note, I hate the numbering system between the Japanese versions and the American versions! It confuses me to no end!)

Tungsten wrote on 01/29/2013 at 11:27pm

My ring-tone is the battle theme.

I seriously suggested that we name our first born son Cecil.

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 01/29/2013 at 11:29pm

That's so rad!

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:15am

Just use the japanese numbering! They're almost all worth playing.

I loooooove FF4. Watch Out For Fireballs! is doing a music episode. If you have some thoughts about the music, specific songs, and such, lay'em on us! http://duckfeed.tv/contact/

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:51am

But I grew up with the American numbering lol!

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 01/30/2013 at 02:17am

I did too but then I went and found the in between games. If they were all shit, I'd be fine pretending they didn't exist but FF3 and 5 are both pretty good.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/30/2013 at 04:35am

Like Adym I got confused with the numbering myself, but have come to later accept it as you can't get the right information on Wikipedia without knowing the right game. That and other game sites, so it sort of makes sense to learn it.

And the other games exist and are good, which helps.

@Tungsten that's a good idea for a boys name, if you make it happen ill give you a special trophy "Named Son Cecil" or some such. :D

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/31/2013 at 06:00pm

Adym, if you liked the music from FF4 I suggest you check out http://ff4.ocremix.org/. I'm pretty sure ocremix has been mentioned on this site before, but it's basically a bunch of musicians who love video game music. They made a full album dedicated to FF4. I especially like the track "The Skies Hold No Angels for Us".

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/31/2013 at 06:02pm

Thats a great OCRemix album. My only beef is that its not tagged properly and really hard to manage. If you can fix that, its a great set of songs from the game!

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 01/31/2013 at 10:01pm

That's sweet, I'll have to check it out!

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More fun than it should be...

So, I've been playing 10000000 way more than I expected lately. It recently came out on steam and has been available on iOs for a while.

It's very compelling match-3 gameplay tied to a forever-run mechanic with rpg elements (upgrades, items) with old-sk00l graphics. I highly recommend you give it a try. You'll find yourself playing longer than expected mumbling "just one more run... just one more run..."

JaBo wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:21am

It did look good and I almost picked it up when it was on sale on steam. But I had picked up too many recently and had to pass this one over. I'll probably eventually come back to it, but good to know it is as fun as it appears.

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/30/2013 at 04:36am

Hmmm, should I get this on my phone or Steam?

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/30/2013 at 07:50pm

I spent plenty of time playing PuzzleQuest on my iPod touch. Is it similar to that?

hardeyez Post Author wrote on 02/01/2013 at 01:36am

Not really like PuzzleQuest (which I *loved*). PQ had a story that was funny and was a more traditional match-3. 10M is VERY fast paced and you can drag as far as you want left/right or up/down to make matches, so it feels quite different from a traditional match 3 (where you only swap adjacent tiles to match). 10M's rpg elements consist of "Quests" to eventually level up, 3 of which are open at any one time (and are replaced on the next run when you complete them). They are quite straightforward though, e.g. get X points in a run, collect X wood in a run, make X match-5's in a run, make X triple matches in a run, etc. The other rpg elements are upgrading, you open and upgrade several rooms to improve your character/equipment i.e. upgrade magic, sword, etc (I'd list the rest but it's slightly spoilerish).

So you complete quests to level up, get resources to improve your character, and just get better at playing to get better scores for each run.

Oh, and by run, I'm being literal -- your character runs across the top of the screen and encounters random things you have to kill/unlock by doing matches.

The goal is to hit 10 million points in a single run. I'm now up to where I've hit 4.5 million in one run (and have maxed most of the stuff possible, and I think I have just one more level to go)

Not sure what happens then (i.e. if you get to continue or what) there are several steam achievements that would suggest you get to...

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/01/2013 at 06:12am

Seems awesome.

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Portland Global Game Jam 2013

The Global Game Jam is a yearly event designed to bring people of various backgrounds together to build video games. This year the Portland game community was one participant in this global event taking place in 242 locations over 47 countries in the course of the weekend. I was part of the initial kickoff and was able to be part of this creative digital collab-fest.

As the 60+ people converged on The Art Institute of Portland I was surprised at the diversity of the group consisting of programmers, artists, musicians, modelers, writers, classically trained 3d generalists, architects, pixel artists, film makers, illustrators and community organizers. After the keynote... Read All