The Uncanny Valley
Every once in awhile I find myself describing this concept to people. This presentation does a good job of it. As GPU’s become more and more flexible, it’s expected that graphics APIs will go away. Flexibility in the rendering pipeline will be a benefit whether you are pursuing photo-realism or stylization. Either way I’m excited [...]
Fantastic Contraption
Fantastic Contraption is a really fun little web game. Simple goal, just get the red block inside the goal area using a small array of tools. As with most physics games though, the fun is in creating wacky things. Add the ability to share your contraptions with others via a link, and we’re all set. [...]
$10 Sex Change
It was bound to happen. Maybe it already did and I missed it. Nevertheless here it is. For a mere $10 you can change your sex in an MMO.
The Hardest Mario Game Ever
Only one word can describe this. Brutal. Also, hilarious.
Guitar Hero Destroyed
I gave my parents Guitar Hero 3 on the Wii for Christmas. It was a popular present. My nephew has already gone through easy mode and I hear that my sister has spent several multi-hour practice sessions with it. Here is my challenge to them: 9 Year Old Beats Hardest Guitar Hero Level
28 Reasons I Don’t Shop at GameStop
If your store needs a 5 page long confession including tips on how to properly shop there, something is wrong. I’d rather just waltz into Best Buy and get what I want, or if it isn’t an impulse buy, get it online. In reality though, I don’t trust other people to take care of their [...]
Ignis Solus
del.icio.us Tags: Machinima, Team Fortress 2, TF2 I’ve always had a soft spot for good Machinima. It is very interesting how expressive these can be, given the limitations of available animations. Even something as simple as position and orientation can convey emotion. Also I like the music.
The Most Powerful Person in the World
Lily ran across this video, which I rather like. It has a good surreal feel to it, but it does run a bit long. It can be very difficult trying to express what those of us who play games get out of them. Sometimes a game is only a challenge, a test of reflexes. Sometimes [...]
Portal
Portal is a lot of fun, even though it is short. Total time it took around three hours to finish, but it is an extremely polished experience. The difficulty curve is just right. The first few puzzles are very simple, but that seems to fit with the setting. You are a lab rat. They can [...]
Halo Wars Looks Boring
I’m not sold on the idea of RTS games on the consoles in the first place, at least not in their current form. Selection is just too cumbersome, even with the BFME control style. From what we’ve seen of Halo Wars so far it doesn’t look like I will be changing my outlook any time [...]
Meet the Heavy
This video is hilarious. Great marketing. In less than a minute and a half they portray the character of Heavy Weapons Guy flawlessly. Team Fortress 2 looks like it will be a lot of fun, I will definitely try it out. If you’d like to see a higher rez video it is available here. Check [...]
Custom Guitar Hero
Here is more evidence to show that if your fans go to great lengths to do something, it should be a feature in your next game. Apparently people have figured out how to create custom songs for the PS2 version of Guitar Hero 2. My favorite one so far is the Dueling Banjos:
What games I’d be playing if I wasn’t playing WoW
Ed brings up a good point. World of Warcraft, in fact MMOs in general, have a tendency to soak up all of your free time. They push out all other games, and you’re eventually left with a backlog for those times that you need an MMO break. Luckily, I’m currently on break from WoW. It’s [...]
Championship Pac-Man
The new Pac-Man game on Xbox Live Arcade is awesome. I’m really surprised at how such small changes to the gameplay result in such a different experience. The timer and pacing make it feel much more frenetic. The way the pellets spawn on either side via grabbing the fruit adds some strategy that was never [...]
