What isn’t awesome about this artwork? NOTHING THAT’S WHAT. I, like Yahtzee, love Tim Schafer. We’ve taken turns talking about how great he is. I grew up on games like Day of the Tentacle and I adored Full Throttle. Psychonauts quickly grew on me (after my fingers healed up) and when Tim finally returned with… Continue reading Game Review: Brütal Legend
Category: Gaming
Playing With Others (instead of just myself)
As my darling wife has mentioned (What’s that? You didn’t know she was blogging? Shame on you, go read her awesome posts, I’ll wait), there are several MMOs of various flavors on their way. Following her fine example, since she followed mine in getting a blog started in the first place, I’m going to take… Continue reading Playing With Others (instead of just myself)
Choose Your Own Action/Adventure
Old book is old. Even the guy on the cover is old. I have a dog-eared copy of the first Choose Your Own Adventure book, the Cave of Time, somewhere in my collection. I adored reading it over and over again, because every time I picked it up, something different was going to happen. Now,… Continue reading Choose Your Own Action/Adventure
Game Review: Mass Effect
“Don’t argue with me. You’re the one who killed the last keg, so you’re getting us a new one!” In preparation for the upcoming Mass Effect 2, I thought it would be appropriate to see how this new series of sci-fi role-playing games began. As a caveat, I played the first game on the X-Box… Continue reading Game Review: Mass Effect
Everything's Cooler in Space, even Canned Goods!
My work computer decided there was no point in being productive after the old UPS finally kicked the bucket. So, since I have very little time at the moment, here’s a look at some of the Perks I’ve dreamed up for the sci-fi tabletop RPG. Enjoy. Perks Perks are either passive or active. Passive Perks… Continue reading Everything's Cooler in Space, even Canned Goods!
Everything's Cooler in Space: Sources of Conflict
“All drama is conflict” according to an old saying. That’s why combat features so prominently in gaming situations – it’s easy to have something feel dramatic when the player’s getting shot at. However, the drama and combat should grow organically from the setting and story, rather than just happening when things get dull. To that… Continue reading Everything's Cooler in Space: Sources of Conflict
Round the Table: Random is Random
There’s something Justin mentioned yesterday that ties into something that’s been on my mind. In working with games and even brewing the idea for one of my own design, I’ve had to think about the role & use of random chance in a gaming environment. Mortal beings are fallible. They miss targets. Fat-finger passwords. Slip… Continue reading Round the Table: Random is Random
Aion's Allure
My wife has a blog and it’s going to be mostly about Aion. She’s been playing for a while and really enjoys it. Since I’ve been doing things like writing, prepping an entry for the Escapist’s video contest and playing Dragon Age, I haven’t yet started my own adventures in Atreia. Should my wife acquire… Continue reading Aion's Allure
Everything's Cooler In Space: Mood Music
Kicking around in the back of my head as I work on novels, video entries and freelance gaming submissions, the sci-fi tabletop project continues to slowly but surely take shape. Assisting that is a few pieces of music. I’ll list them for you, talk about their merits & nuances, and what they mean to this… Continue reading Everything's Cooler In Space: Mood Music
Everything's Cooler in Space: It Ain't Rocket Science
Okay, I lied. I mentioned last week I’d go over more skills and perks, but seriously, what good will it do me to expound upon those aspects of the game if nobody wants to play it? So the question I’m going to try and answer should be obvious: why would someone want to play it?… Continue reading Everything's Cooler in Space: It Ain't Rocket Science
