Brobst Town » Games

The Uncanny Valley

paul — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:36:22 +0000

Every once in awhile I find myself describing this concept to people. This presentation does a good job of it.

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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 to see what everyone comes up with next.

Fantastic Contraption

paul — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:01:48 +0000

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.

Here are some of my others:

Two Way, Caterpillar, Jumper, Crawler, and my favorite, Lift.

Also, Joel is great at creating walkers.

Give it a try.

Argonauts on XPlay

paul — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:18:35 +0000

Argonauts Trailer

paul — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:10:09 +0000

$10 Sex Change

paul — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:58:08 +0000

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

paul — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:38:52 +0000

Only one word can describe this. Brutal. Also, hilarious.

Guitar Hero Destroyed

paul — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 04:58:39 +0000

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

paul — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:33:14 +0000

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 discs, so used copies don’t hold much interest for me. I’m certainly not willing to buy a used copy to save a meager $5 off of the new price.

Tips 21 and 22 are pretty good, but I would change them to “Don’t buy third-party peripherals ever.” I worked at an independent used game store through high school. The third-party stuff always feels cheap and breaks quickly.

Ignis Solus

paul — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:46:38 +0000

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

paul — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:25:24 +0000

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 they are more.

I once got into a discussion with an older couple, over dinner, that started out with “No offense, but why do you play these when you could be out developing a SKILL”. My friends and I then tried to describe what the attraction to a game like Guitar Hero is.

I think I’ve settled on posing a simple question to people, when faced with this kind of debate.

Have you ever read a book or gone to a movie? It’s a lot like that.

I hate to say it, but either you’re open to the idea or you aren’t. It’s difficult to change someone’s outlook.