2014's "S**t That Was Cool And S**t That Wasn't" Awards








One of the last indie games released on the PS3 shouldn't be forgotten.
I’m typing this expecting not many will read it. I’m typing this knowing full well this in a post-E3 week world, everyone is, at the very least, interested in the “what comes next.” With a few empty bottles of syrah on my small table, next to the bills, I’m struggling to think something ‘catchy’ as a headline. It’s probably best to go with the truth.
Based on "The Most Dangerous Game." The new Ohio-based game developer studio, Multivarious Games, has a Kickstarter dedicated to bringing local multiplayer fun to a console near you.
A few weeks back I received an invitation to attend a local gathering for Multivarious Games’ Kickstarter launch. A new game development studio launching their Kickstarter for their XNA based game, Dangerous. A game which is partially influenced by Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game.” A game that gives me great pride to write about, considering it hails from a city I call home, Columbus, Ohio.
*Puts fake book upon fake bookshelf*
Oh, Hi! I didn't see you there. You've probably been wondering what I've been up to. If you haven't, that hurts and how did your love turn to hate so fast?
In any event, things typically pick up for me writing-wise around this time of year. I don't know why, but I'm currently looking at 7 half-finished documents in Google. I've also been playing a fair amount of indie games, comic book reading and [thanks to the power outage], movie watching. You'll be learning about all those great adventures at a later date.
In the mean time, feel free to check out this innovative little nugget in the first-person vein. Students over at DigiPen Institute of Technology have crafted quite the artistic puzzler.
Instead of using the first-person perspective for shooting-stuff-or-dudes, this student team has used the mechanic to incorporate 2D puzzle aspects in a 3D environment. This pretty much opens up all kinds of doors as far as what else we can and should be doing with the technology available. The game is called, oddly enough, Perspective.
I think that's cool. More updates to come.
Source: DigiPen
One man, one woman, and where the f**k is that lisp coming from?!
So I started writing about games again. I figured with the blossoming flowers and sunny Mid-West days, it would be a great opportunity to avoid all of that, and the humans that come with it. It also doesn’t hurt that I played Rochard whilst getting over food poisoning. Rochard is, and I rarely use this word, weirdly delightful. It’s a little strange and the controls are a bit unwieldy, but this game is worth it. Then there’s the effeminate henchmen.
Four developers. Four different cities. One game.
It’s rare I get to make contact with artists making work that motivates me. It’s even more difficult when it’s a game developer who has just released a game weeks ago. A man from my home state of Ohio, Terrence Lee spared some time to answer questions about his team’s new game, Dustforce. In my continued studies of how we approach games, I think it’s important to pay special attention to how smaller teams make the jump from idea experimentation to full-fledged execution. Why? The ideas of how we play and enjoy games, should be just as important as the idea of making them.
I mean who doesn't love a great 8-bit game, that also functions as an homage to the gaming days of yesteryear? I know I don't.
Let's face it, I tend to write about some fairly serious topics in, at times, an overly dramatic fashion. It can get down right annoying. So here's my thanks to you, a free game that you can play on the crappiest of computers [with upgraded Flash, mind you]. It's called Abobo's Big Adventure [you wouldn't believe how many times I've to spell check "Adobo"]. Abobo's Big Adventure is an indie game featuring one of Double Dragon's most hated villains. He's on a quest for blood and revenge. Why? Not sure, I think Abobo's son was kidnapped and ... umm -- revenging. Hey, if you want the history as to how and why this amazing game exists, by all means check it out.
One of the many interesting panels I found over at Comix Cube
These past couple weeks and [I'm guessing] future weeks will be dedicated to me figuring out some things in my little life. One of which is [hopefully] getting my TV serviced so I can get back to reviewing this ever-growing hill of vidja games.
I'm also finding time to work on other artistic endeavors that you may [or may not] see on the internet.
Since my facebook sabbatical, my Twitter and e-mail inbox have been getting stuffed. Some of it is actually not totally disgusting. I'd even go as far in saying that it may have brightened my week.
Below is a dump of all the tabs I currently have open in my browser
"Fear For Your Puny Lives!"