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Month: October 2014

The horrible truth about cats, haunted houses and shrinking potions

10/26/2014 Gaming

One of the many, many downsides (many) of having a trusted comrade BETRAY you by shrinking you and your fellows down to Lilliputian sized test subjects whilst exploring a giant poorly designed haunted house, is that inevitably  they release their hungry (albeit playful) feline friends to hunt you down while you try to escape their slavering maws and sharp claws.  Another downside is that your plans don’t always work out near as well when faced with poor dice rolls.  Also crappy plans don’t help.

As a child I remember fondly the days leading up to Halloween, the anticipation of all the future dental bills that the sudden and vast influx of sugary treats would bring. These days I run towards the simpler, less tooth decay causing activities, usually just long for a night where I can play some of the many zombie, Cthulhu, ghost or other horror themed board games I have collected since my discovery that such things exist.  And this year it finally happened.  Enough at least to satiate my desires for another year and perhaps urge me towards completion of my own games in the genre.

We played Betrayal at House on the Hill, Cthulhu Gloom, Ghost Stories and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  All great games and very enjoyable.  Maybe this year I can clean off my desk enough to try a solo game of Arkham Horror on Halloween night unless that might be too much for the Old Ones ones to overlook….

-v- out.

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley

10/20/2014 Daily Minutiae

It’s true.  I have grand plans when I sit down here at night in front of the ol’ computron 2000, but alas it never seems to lead to anything more than just perusing websites for no more than a minute or two. Heaven forbid I have any kind of attention span longer than the time it takes to eat half a Twinkie.  (Sweetest comeback ever!)

Oh I’ll jot down an idea or two for whatever game design is currently in the front of the queue to help make me feel a tad more productive.  Although I don’t know if writing “do more better fun good” is really game design but it helps me to sleep better on my… I just randomly searched a folder on my hard drive for a video that I didn’t even watch as I started typing that last sentence.  To be fair in my head I thought it would have been a really good video to watch just then but when I found it and remembered what was in it after seeing the name it really wasn’t worth the time.  It wasn’t even worth the time it took me to write about it in that last sentence.

This is getting out of hand.  It’s almost bedtime anyway I guess.

-v- out.

Taken away to another place and time

10/17/2014 Daily Minutiae

That’s what happens whenever I listen to the right music.  Certain songs or just certain styles of music can take me to places I’ve never been but can experience in my mind just through allowing myself to be immersed in the music.  That’s one of the great things about browsing a variety of vids on the youtubes, great music can be found in the strangest places.  I also get a fair share of auditory titillation from all the soundtracks I’ve accumulated over the years, music that’s geared towards evoking specific emotions or feelings is a great way for me to sit back and relax after (or sometimes during) a long stressful day.

Just random thoughts while listening to some new music.

-v- out.

The internal struggle wages on eternally…

10/08/2014 Daily Minutiae

I seem to think that I’m not too bright.   I’m no psychologist, but I do believe that my id is trying to trick me.  I’ve been pretty meh on the whole game design/writing thing and I think its because I lack a certain device.  At least thats what I think I want me to believe.  I know I don’t need it but I surely want it and I must be telling myself that if I get it a unicorn with its magical horn (or is the unicorn inherently magical horn notwithstanding?) will shatter with extreme prejudice the creative barriers that have slowly been erected around me freeing me in my pursuit of pure awesomeness.  Picture all that with a lot more rainbows and colors and you get an idea of the kind of lies I seem to be telling myself.

Like I said I must not think I’m very smart.

I want a new laptop/tablet and I’ve almost convinced myself that I would totally be more productive if I had such a thing.  Totally.  I could write or design no matter where I go or what time of day or night it is because of that fantastic fancy new tech that I just don’t have.  While in part that may be true, I know deep down that I really don’t go anywhere so here in front of my computer is where I spend the vast majority of my time.  I know this.  It doesn’t stop me from trying to convince me otherwise though. Bless my conniving little heart, at least I care enough about my own happiness that I’m willing to lie to me to achieve it.

*self hug*

-v- out.

A clock, a calendar and a sundial walk in to my life…

10/05/2014 Daily Minutiae

Gentle readers, I propose to you that I am in need of some kind of scheduling system in order to better deliver content in a more timely and palatable manner.

I’ll work something up and let you know.  I mainly would like to start thinking out loud about various game design topics and I think if I were to do so at regular intervals I might actually start doing it.   As always my lazy nature works against me and this may be another idea that fails to survive to fruition.

-v- out.

Minutiae by the Minute

10/02/2014 Daily Minutiae - Gaming - Vampyres
Where my time goes to die...

Might as well continue the trend and get another post out there while the mood is right.  Time to relax and listen to some Louis’ greatest hits while I think of something to post.

I’m on the fence about whether or not to buy the upcoming Borderlands game Borderlands The Pre-Sequel.  Much like the previous iterations, I’m sure ill finish the game and enjoy it a great deal.  The concern is whether or not I can hold out long enough for it to go on sale or even a bundle with the season pass.  I have a current backlog of games that I need to finish or even start.  Some of my favorite gaming moments are when playing with friends and while a few others might get the game release day, it’s highly unlikely I’d end up playing co-op with them.  I tend to chew through the content at a pretty rapid pace and become despondent when I finish the game.  I also don’t enjoy playing the game immediately after with another character just because the content is too fresh in my mind which is one reason why I love Borderlands with all its expansion packs and content updates.   Anyway I’m on the fence about that one, but its a rickety fence and I’m already leaning toward the side that has cel-shaded open arms waiting for me.

One of the games I was hoping to get this year from Kickstarter was Pillars of Eternity, but it looks like that has been pushed back until next year so will have to hold longer for that one.

Speaking of Kickstarter, thats where a big chunk of my backlog is waiting for me.  For completed games I still have Banner Saga, Shadowrun Dragonfall, and Wasteland 2 (although I’m close on that one) to finish.  Not to mention all the ones that are already in early access like Dead State, Shadowrun online, Dead Linger, and Stonehearth that are fun to just check out and see where they are at in the development.  I need someone to manage my time since it seems I have too many things to play and not enough time to play them.

First world problems.

-v- out.