tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221526142011-08-19T06:25:34.968-06:00"Ever since the first computers, there have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocol. One we call behavior, unanticipated." -Dr. Alfred Lanning, "I, Robot" (2004)Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.comBlogger1301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-79440866615800076692011-03-26T20:43:00.001-06:002011-03-26T20:43:24.324-06:00

Thanks to a new Android phone, I am now able to get online without having to pull out a full computer. This is a good thing because I rarely have the time anymore. But with some apps, I can surf from the palm of my hand. I can read newsfeeds and generally stay on top of things (or at least think that I am). I can even blog again. Now I just need to do some spring cleaning on my various social

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-88200689069140982592010-09-24T21:29:00.000-06:002010-09-24T21:29:05.977-06:00

I have a problem. I just bought my wife an eBook reader for our anniversary (5 years!). It's a pretty good little gadget. Very simple to use, basically plug and read. The software is slick, and ties directly to their store. And their store is pretty closely tied to our local big-box bookstore. I live in Canada, so our big book store is Chapters (slash Indigo, slash Coles... It's practically a

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-78665645317017830952010-01-30T22:05:00.000-07:002010-01-30T22:05:09.273-07:00

But first I have to apologize for the horrible Kanye West reference. Sorry. Anyway, I wanted to talk a bit about the conversation interrupts in Mass Effect 2. I love these things. I think they are fantastic. They feel immediate, visceral, and allow the player to feel like they can have an impact on the conversation. They are not Quick Time Events because they are entirely optional. They

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-53821277905622208102010-01-29T08:45:00.000-07:002010-01-29T08:45:53.956-07:00

Until January 31st (2010), Telltale Games is offering the entire first season of Sam & Max for $4.95 USD. Go Here To Get It For five bucks you get 6 episodes of hilarious cartoon violence and witty dialog. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you'll know that I've talked about Sam & Max before (here and here). That was back when I was subscribing to GameTap. I've since

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-44888279448104001922010-01-26T23:57:00.000-07:002010-01-26T23:57:50.905-07:00

I've now had a little over 4 hours with Mass Effect 2 and I think I can reliably say this about it: Bioware is worthy of all the praise and acclaim they will certainly receive from reviewers and fans in the next while. ME2 is glorious. The story grips from the onset, gives you control, and the galaxy is far more alive than it was in ME1. I could probably gush about it for a several paragraphs

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-16384541552408686082010-01-25T09:37:00.000-07:002010-01-25T09:37:35.571-07:00

Seth Godin (master marketer and thinker on things community) has a short blog post about art. He defines art thusly: Art is made by a human being. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording... but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art. Drop this definition into the discussion

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-36691884582401486512010-01-23T22:22:00.000-07:002010-01-23T22:22:27.080-07:00

Two weeks ago I purchased a year long membership to Xbox Live Gold. Truth be told, I did it because the package included a chat pad, a headset and a game for a price I really couldn't say no to. And I like some of the perks (though have used few of them). For instance, I can now get demos and videos of games I probably won't buy a week before I used to. And I can use the crippled and nearly

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-17400851068489273472010-01-14T20:45:00.000-07:002010-01-14T20:45:36.177-07:00

I have written about You Don't Know Jack at least twice on this blog (here and here). Both times lamenting the fact that I can't play a current version of the irreverent trivia game on my living room TV with friends and strangers over the internets. This was brought painfully to mind again this week as I dipped my toe back into the world of trivia gameshows with 1 vs 100 on the Xbox 360. More

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-71358246336255045942010-01-02T13:11:00.000-07:002010-01-02T13:11:06.682-07:00

According to the rest of the world, this is going out a day late. All I can say is that sometimes these things take time. So, January 2nd just around 1 in the afternoon (Mountain Standard Time) I am writing this. I suppose it is my New Year's Resolution. It is an odd ritual, the making of resolutions. People pick an arbitrary day in the Solar year and make a statement that they will strive to

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-73258399428595867062009-11-27T15:29:00.000-07:002009-11-27T15:29:07.677-07:00

It has been nearly 6 months since I last posted anything to this blog. Not for lack of things to post. Not even for lack of time (I have spare time, I simply waste a lot of it). I seem to have lacked drive. The fickle inspiration to transcribe my inner litany to black and white text had fled, leaving my keyboard un-tapped. I was in input mode. This seems to happen, every now and again. I become

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-1769987433686341442009-06-11T23:30:00.000-06:002009-06-11T23:30:42.000-06:00

This a rebuttal to Yehuda's post: Why Don't Video Games Tell You the Rules? Firstly, a declaration: I am a video gamer and a board gamer. I love to explore any system that has rules and systems. However, there are fundamental differences between the organization and execution of each type of game that alters not only how we perceve them, but also how we play them. Most of these have to do with

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-71946369832257443122009-05-03T18:35:00.000-06:002009-05-03T18:35:00.731-06:00

I have purchased my first-ever micro game. Expect more of these in the next while, hopefully all with as simple a way to buy in. The game is Windosill, a very simple Ambient Point-And-Click Puzzler. Describing the game is difficult. Each scene is a window into a strange world. The window sill has a block car and a locked door. You have to find the cube that unlocks the door so you can get the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-27009040973102969782009-05-02T08:27:00.000-06:002009-05-02T08:27:04.298-06:00

I just played Blurst's newest release: Paper Moon. Go ahead, have a go, it's free. It's a very basic platformer. The twist is that you can pop select pieces of the scenery in and out. These bits are either behind, on level with, or in front of the scene. This means that jumping puzzles can have an added element where you have to jump and then pop the next platform into place. The neat part comes

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-91283854562795931582009-04-28T08:00:00.004-06:002009-04-28T08:00:00.274-06:00

**Warning: this post may contain spoilers as it talks about stuff that happens after the main game ends. Also it may digress into discussions paying for content.** So far, the only downloadable content for PoP worth speaking of is the Epilogue. It picks up exactly where the ending left off and carries the prince and Elika away from Ahriman's immediate control and into new lands. It also serves

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-58684060412735664892009-04-27T08:00:00.005-06:002009-04-27T08:00:00.412-06:00

**Warning: there are spoilers in this post. If you want to stay blissfully ignorant about the ending of PoP until you play it, STOP READING NOW** There have been a lot of complaints about the ending to PoP. If you haven't played it, but don't care about spoilers, here's the synopsis: Elika's father, the last king of the Ahura, has released Ahriman, the dark god of corruption. He did it to bring

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-17852945860094865672009-04-26T08:00:00.003-06:002009-04-26T08:00:00.601-06:00

PoP presents a fully realized story backdrop to accompany the decaying vistas that populate your sightlines from horizon to horizon. It is a story of a trapped evil god, freed though despair and loss. You fight his four acolytes, men who have bargained with him in the past, and lost their souls in the process. Each tale is a wonderful digression, exploring classic themes and stories. Each

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-90078620943524592862009-04-25T08:00:00.004-06:002009-04-25T08:00:00.449-06:00

The combat is a negative point for me, but not for a lack of trying. I think with a little more play testing and some adjustment the cinematic quality could have been preserved without the unnecessary punishment for not being psychic. I applaud the combat for using the same button contexts as the movement in the game. Jump becomes acrobatics and dodge. Grip/Glove becomes grab and toss. Magic

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-41601960428656892042009-04-24T08:00:00.005-06:002009-04-24T08:00:00.185-06:00

The positive aspect isn't so much about the PoP's difficulty, as it's about the unique way it handles the difficulty curve: it doesn't really have one. The intro teaches you the basic moves: jump, wall climb, wall run, rings to extend moves. After that you are quickly given teaching on the additional moves: vine crawling, co-op jumps, and the ceiling crawl. A little later you will unlock the "

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-42710537635136669482009-04-23T08:00:00.001-06:002009-04-23T08:00:00.508-06:00

The game is short. It clocked in under 12 hours, including the Downloadable Content. Even for me, and I like to take my time to explore. Case in point: I got the achievements for collecting all of the Light Seeds, and doing the Speed Runs, and still got the achievement for finishing the game quickly. No internet help on them either. This is good, because the game doesn't outstay its welcome.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-12231521219699569332009-04-22T08:00:00.002-06:002009-04-22T08:00:01.442-06:00

The first thing that hits you about this game is that it's bloody gorgeous. Actually, maybe not. I'm trying to think back to when I first started playing the game. You begin with a short cut-scene where The Prince (note: not actually a prince) is trudging blindly through a sandstorm. He promptly falls down a cliff and is landed on by a beautiful woman. The game is pretty nice looking at this

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-61495800334514649292009-04-21T23:04:00.000-06:002009-04-21T23:04:11.940-06:00

Ubisoft Montreal's re-envisioning of Prince of Persia has far more qualities than flaws. The beautiful world design, coupled with the fantastic voice work and competent narrative create a highly immersive world that feels like playing an action movie. I played the entire game, with the DLC Epilogue in a couple of weeks with no sessions longer than 3 hours. I found a few parts frustrating, but

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-36700127557980677262009-04-15T21:27:00.000-06:002009-04-15T21:27:46.901-06:00

Space, so I've been told, is a bleak and depressing place. There is a lot of nothing, and when you do find something (anything) it tends to be harsh, inhospitable, and dangerous. Which is probably why exploring planets (the main activity of side missions in Mass Effect) is so bloody boring. Warning! (Boring) Spoilers Ahead. Just about every side mission has the following attributes: (optional)

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-29062816094864222552009-04-12T20:44:00.000-06:002009-04-12T20:44:27.829-06:00

I mentioned in my last post that I recently finished my first play through of Mass Effect. I managed to cover a lot of the content, side missions, exposition, and general tooling around that the game provides. Yet I still hope to play it again. Twice if I can manage. There's a small problem with many epic-sized games, specifically with the Western-style RPGs: multiple paths through the narrative

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-43240661857877338402009-04-11T09:02:00.000-06:002009-04-11T09:02:52.261-06:00

Last weekend I finished my first play through of Mass Effect, the first installment of BioWare's epic Space Opera. It is a rare occasion that I get to complete a full-sized RPG like this, and I'm still feeling inordinately pleased about it. When I play, I like to get immersed. I lean heavily towards games with lots of narrative elements and large storyworlds. This used to be adventure games.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-2304210220860271462009-03-28T20:28:00.000-06:002009-03-28T20:28:52.813-06:00

It's been a while since I blogged. I'll try to fix than. First, a short diversion. I am hearing echos down the inter-tubes that Bioware's space opera sequel (Mass Effect 2, for those playing at home without a scorecard) will be a Shooter RPG. This worries me. I am a self-professed Bioware Fanboy. Having a deep love of epic storytelling, and growing up in the same town, has had the expected

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-49461462510909598922009-01-22T09:30:00.001-07:002009-01-23T00:17:12.841-07:00

For some unfathomable reason, I have never talked about American McGee's Grimm here. I can't imagine why, it's a quirky episodic game about fairy tales and fables. I was very excited about it when it first came out. The reason I bring this up, is that Gamasutra has a postmortem on Grimm, which is rather insightful. You can read that here. If you've never heard of Grimm, then let me elucidate

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-90060105376534594892009-01-14T14:21:00.001-07:002009-01-16T22:22:25.445-07:00

The Minigame Court (an offshoot of Chris Bateman's blog Only a Game) currently has Quick Time Events (QTEs) on trial. For the game uninitiated, QTEs encompass any action where the player must suddenly (and sometimes repeatedly) hit a button or series of buttons to preform an action during a non-gameplay moment. It has, perhaps most famously, be characterized as "Press X to Not Die". You may read

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-48162920853155036682009-01-12T23:46:00.000-07:002009-01-13T00:09:14.932-07:00

Firstly, let me exclaim about the fact that it is nearly the middle of January(!), and I have yet to make a post in 2009. Not that I'm surprised. However, my office is much neater, and I have had a few distractions. Chiefly, I bought an Xbox 360 over the holiday. I had initially wanted to wait until I could lay my hands on a Jasper unit, but the Boxing Day sales were too enticing and their

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-15064201517539671692008-12-26T07:08:00.000-07:002008-12-26T07:42:04.675-07:00

There has been a lot said on these games already. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to add anything new, so I won't bother including my review. There's a short description, so at least you know what you're getting into. Most of these have great audio, so turn up your speakers. Have fun! You Have to Burn the Rope (Flash - Kongregate) I think you can figure out what to do. Stay for the song at the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-56986395029129182382008-12-09T22:00:00.000-07:002008-12-09T22:59:15.875-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that I follow a lot of gaming news. I try to watch a lot of trailers, gameplay videos, and even some of the Achievement Hunter stuff. I'll read previews, reviews, analyses, and commentaries. I soak it all in. Mostly because I'm not going to have a chance to play even a fraction of it. At least not right away. So tracking the current events is a make-shift second. Left

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-12774662595454308542008-11-16T19:51:00.000-07:002008-11-16T21:01:13.465-07:00

The Sony PlayStation 3 has had a hard life, up to this point. It is expensive, has few games worth playing, and fewer exclusive games. There has been trouble even getting developers to work with the platform because of its complexity. Sony has also woefully mismanaged the advertising, distribution, backwards compatability, and brand loyalty of many hundreds of thousands of devoted PS2 owners.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-80596134258946207932008-11-13T20:11:00.000-07:002008-11-13T20:32:11.749-07:00

News has hit today that the Wii Speak, a microphone attachment fo your Wii that will allow you to voice chat with other Wii gamers, has a serious customer service flaw. The Wii Speak can be bought separately or with the new Animal Crossing game released next week. It will work with upcomming games, the updated version of the Browser Channel, and a special Wii Speak Channel. The device will ship

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-85987149723680704252008-10-20T19:39:00.000-06:002008-10-20T20:07:49.864-06:00

Censorship! Video Games! Microsoft! Do I have your attention? Microsoft has patented a way to censor real-time audio chat. Soon you'll be able to flip a toggle on Xbox Live to silence the harsher words of your fellow players. Microsoft is, of course, simply trying to make their service as family friendly as possible so they can sell more consoles. They have a bit of a reputation for players

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-29681120600306797002008-10-04T15:18:00.003-06:002008-10-04T22:23:08.498-06:00

My sister-in-law lent me Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All this summer, and I have meandered my way through it. For those of you not indoctrinated into this particular gaming cult, I'll illuminate. Justice for All is the second game in the series (now sitting at three, with a possible fourth game and a Japanese-only musical production in the works). The lead character, Phoenix Wright,

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-64403346909411783192008-09-22T20:11:00.000-06:002008-09-22T20:11:00.266-06:00

I know I'm a couple weeks late to ride the LHC jokes. This post isn't about that. Really. (Although, if you ever need to be sure, you can always check...) No, I'm talking about the end of the online You Don't Know Jack webisodes. One of my favourite weekly time-killers is ending. Check out the very last episode (100). The reason is that Jellyvision is getting back in the game. They are gearing

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-50195416299047199662008-08-30T15:13:00.001-06:002008-08-30T21:15:26.947-06:00

I do hate it when people confuse their Rights with things that they are merely fortunate to have. For instance, almost all of us have met people who treat driving as a Right, God-given to them at the age of 16. No matter what they do they feel that, as a Right, it should never be taken from them. Inevitably they are some of the worst drivers because they have little respect for the rules and less

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-21087875727942877232008-08-19T13:35:00.000-06:002008-08-19T13:38:17.210-06:00

Jellyvision has a new studio head, and a new direction: back into games. *glee* Gamasutra with the news (linkety). Also, please note that they have one of the best senses of humour in the game biz. Even their press releases and "serious" comments are peppered with absurdity.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-860230126075981012008-08-06T22:23:00.000-06:002008-08-06T22:46:19.102-06:00

Today I reached a milestone. At least if you count certain values as having greater significance than others, or hold to some belief that change initiates itself upon a schedule. I don't, too often. Big round numbers attract me like anyone else, but I love the small randomness of life far more. Regardless, today I reached one of those rare numerical accomplishments that gets you teased and joked

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-61023655485089164782008-07-30T19:39:00.001-06:002008-07-30T21:13:43.576-06:00

It only took 2 weeks to get 100% on LEGO Indiana Jones, playing co-op, with my wife. Maybe 40 hours in total. Certainly an entire Saturday was spent playing. And many weeknights. Jumping, smashing, building, and generally creating LEGO mayhem. Gobs of easy platforming fun was had, and now I'd like to rant on for a few paragraphs about it. BUT... Since Yahtzee reviewed this game a few weeks ago,

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-36125598762903214802008-07-28T09:43:00.000-06:002008-07-28T09:51:55.520-06:00

Flash Games You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 82 & 83 7 minutes, eachMore Jack. It's an addiction by now. Or at least a bad habit. Wii Wii Fit Less time than I should haveIt's starting to worry me that only a couple of weeks in and I'm starting to lose the will to workout. Or even to do the daily body test. Must keep it up. I need to find a better time to work it into my schedule. LEGO Indiana

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-88330187268663540152008-07-21T08:00:00.001-06:002008-07-21T08:00:06.253-06:00

Wii Wii Fit 3.5 hoursWii fit is interesting. It has mini-games, but I don't think it qualifies as a game itself. In the same way that Brain Age isn't really a game. It's a trainer program. You use it the same way that you used to use Typing Tutor. Only to help improve and track your body. Mostly it's great. There is just one glaring deficiency: no guided workouts. I'll explain more when I do a

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-39076978433197023302008-07-14T08:00:00.001-06:002008-07-14T08:00:00.807-06:00

Wii Games Wii Fit 1.5 hours Bought this on Friday. So far have used it three days. I don't really have much to say about it. The quality of the balance board itself is good. It feels solid and sturdy. The "game" itself is well designed and has a pleasing aesthetic. I wanted to get it as a motivational tool to working out and tracking my weight. I don't have the time or money to spend on a gym

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-39288173555760611592008-07-13T20:42:00.000-06:002008-07-13T21:30:39.675-06:00

I mentioned in the Monday Report that I'd try to post something about my thoughts during and after playing the first assignment. You can go and view live discussion that Kotaku had (link). I didn't get a chance to participate but I have a few thoughts of my own. The game starts off by throwing you into an action sequence. I found this interesting for two reasons: it doesn't spend a lot of time

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-46217970946279441372008-07-07T08:00:00.002-06:002008-07-07T08:00:00.945-06:00

PC Games Beyond Good & Evil (GameTap) 2.5 Hours Played the first section needed for the Game Club. I forgot how relaxed this game is, or at least starts. There are action-y sections, and the hovercraft races for those adrenaline moments. Mostly it's just exploring interesting locations, and taking pictures of the wildlife. This goes well for me because I like to take my time and methodically

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-1109445387956524772008-07-06T19:53:00.001-06:002008-12-12T17:07:58.479-07:00

I'm a guy and I like to window shop. I think I get it from my mom. When I was younger, we would go shopping together. It was a time to bond and talk. Most guys get bored with wandering the endless aisles, and become laconic and brooding when dragged to malls just to shop. Not me. I love to browse.Anyway, my wife and I were out doing some lazy Saturday window shopping. At Toy's R Us, as it happens

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-49823856449230566092008-07-02T19:06:00.000-06:002008-12-12T17:07:58.493-07:00

Brian Crecente at Kotaku has (re)started a Game Club. Much like a book club where everyone reads a book, a section at a time, and gathers to discuss it. Only for, you know, video games. This month he's kicking it off with the under-appreciated UbiSoft platformer Beyond Good & Evil. Truth be told, I'm interested.Details and rules can be found here [Link]. The goal is to have the Black Isle Mines

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-27304572542208878082008-06-30T08:00:00.003-06:002008-07-01T09:34:32.727-06:00

Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 Hours 4 more stars. I only have to beat Luigi's Purple Coins. I've tried a couple times now and it keeps kicking my ass. That is a seriously evil level. Flash Games You Don't Know Jack, Episode 74 7 Minutes  No one has quite managed to keep to the rigors of an episodic game release schedule like Jellyvision. They are just so regular. SEEK (ver.0) 5 minutes This is

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-85588363576749602162008-06-23T08:00:00.002-06:002008-06-23T08:41:26.662-06:00

WiiSuper Mario Galaxy1 hour2 more hard won stars. I'm ready to be done with this.Flash GamesYou Don't Know Jack, Episodes 72 & 737 minutes eachThere is a rumour that YDKJ might be coming to the Wii. I can only hope.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-69357308280417492172008-06-22T08:00:00.000-06:002008-06-22T08:00:01.503-06:00

I was riding home on the bus, listening to music and letting my mind wander with the music. I don't know if you've found yourself doing this, but I sometimes follow the lead guitar or bass lines and try to imagine how the song would play in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this. I don't even own a copy of either... Anyway, I was listening to a song that had a

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-29347102487545770422008-06-16T08:00:00.007-06:002008-06-16T08:00:05.771-06:00

WiiSuper Mario Galaxy4 hours, total4 stars on Monday. 2 more on Tuesday. 2 more on Friday. I like it better when the purple coin levels are ones of exploration rather than arbitrary challenges. A few of them have just been 100 coins, scattered about the galaxy. The challenge is to find and get to them all. This pushes to you explore more than you may have before, and use all the tricks the game

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-32782925568383318942008-06-15T08:00:00.002-06:002008-06-15T08:00:03.169-06:00

On Monday I read Tadhg Kelly's (particleblog) post entitled, "Why is the book world NOT threatened by gamers?". I nodded along for most of it. Yeah, books are different from so-called interactive media. Sure games are never going to replace static, authored, edited media the way we thought they would 5 years ago.Aside here: while the mainstream media may just be latching onto this idea, sci-fi

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-48190954752013834012008-06-10T13:23:00.002-06:002008-06-10T13:27:39.820-06:00

1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.If you want to do this again, you'll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-42410148657018668752008-06-09T08:00:00.001-06:002008-06-13T09:27:29.560-06:00

This is the first of what will (hopefully) be a weekly feature. It is an accounting and impressions of all the games I played over the previous week. Mostly I'd like to be able to track what I've played, and hopefully I'll be able to include a few good Flash and Freeware games that flit across my screen.RegularsYou Don't Know Jack, Episodes 68 & 69Not going to say much about these, probably ever.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-89515254444219007472008-06-08T07:32:00.003-06:002008-06-08T08:37:46.136-06:00

I love it when ideas that have been rolling around in my brain click together and for something wonderful. Or something new. It's the same feeling I get when I'm programming, or troubleshooting, or (in this case) designing: pure rush as things make sense.It's easly Sunday morning and and I'm going through The Routine. Computer on, browser open, check e-mail, delete spam, open Google Reader,

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-34430093563461423692008-06-07T18:20:00.003-06:002008-06-07T18:25:04.259-06:00

I had always wondered where it came from...[found via zefrank]

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-43583150417078952462008-06-05T20:38:00.004-06:002008-06-05T21:21:18.920-06:00

How'd it become June already? I seem to have missed a whole month. Ah, well.Greg Tannahill over on The Dust Forms Words just posted a mini review of TV Show King, a trivia game and one of the first games to be released on Nintendo's WiiWare service. It's not complimentary. I'm not that surprised. The quick flicking about I've done on just about any trivia game for any platform in the last decade

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-71251338760028512232008-04-29T21:08:00.003-06:002008-04-29T21:35:56.648-06:00

I ran across this in a Wal-Mart the other day, and it made me shake my head. A quick bit of research later (ie - two minutes of Google searching) and I'm even more baffled.I'm standing there, browsing the DS games. There is little order behind the glass; a haphazard attempt at alphabetization at best. My eyes skim over title after uninteresting title. Past Harvest Moon DS, which I take note of

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-87749380086284568532008-04-19T15:17:00.003-06:002008-04-19T15:55:22.441-06:00

I'm sitting at my computer right now while, in the other room, my wife and her sister kick each other's virtual butts across the screen in Smash Bros. Brawl. This is something of an oddity. Morgan (my wife) is a casual gamer, but often shies away from the more hardcore games. Ruth (her sister) is a gamer, but is usually found playing RPGs, strategy games, and other less action-oriented games on

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-80978996617108631122008-04-02T18:00:00.000-06:002008-04-02T18:00:01.077-06:00

It started when GameTap announced an upcomming GameTap Original: Captain McGrandpa -- Memory of the Forgotten. Touted as a multiplayer adventure game, and allowing an unlimited number of players to shape the world, it looked too good to be true. Slated for release on April 1, it was an obvious April Fool's gag. Go check the game listing, especially the instructions section, if you have any doubts

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-37590708303736214532008-03-31T22:40:00.001-06:002008-12-12T17:07:58.858-07:00

I read something on Kotaku that just tripped my Deja Vu sense. Kotaku link here, via Reg Hardware and PC World.Sandy Duncan, a former Xbox exec is predicting that within the next 5-10 years we will no longer have consoles as we know them now. All consoles will be replaced by thin client boxes that will deliver images and sound to your AV system. All actual calculations and hard crunching will be

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-11646234073350941452008-03-27T11:03:00.008-06:002008-03-29T18:27:23.728-06:00

This post was sitting has been sitting in draft for too long, so I'm kicking part of it out there. Consider this Part 1 of my first multi-part series ever..Jason of Unfettered Blather has a nice little post about Gamer Stereotypes. He outlines the darkest and scariest of the two, the ones feared by the public in general, and then debunks any reality in them. Of course we all cerebrally agree that

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-36530133112040334612008-03-21T22:57:00.004-06:002008-03-31T23:47:41.112-06:00

I bought Smash Bros. Brawl today. Spent most of the afternoon playing through the adventure mode, in co-op. This was good because I am terrible at Smash Bros. and need all the help I can get. this was bad because it was on someone else's Wii and I'm going to have to do it all over again, mostly on my own, to unlock everything at home.But got to see some of the story (such as it is), play some

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-89584889152306819992008-02-28T23:38:00.003-07:002008-02-28T23:50:59.485-07:00

One of my favourite books is currently available to read, for free, for the next month.Neil Gaiman celebrated the 7th birthday of his blog (link), and in celebration let his readers vote on which book to make free to read. American Gods was selected.Link to the HarperCollins Online eBook Reader ThingyI love this book (and Neil's writing in general) because it is full of old tales that have been

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-4923940370239178682008-02-27T22:54:00.003-07:002008-02-27T23:26:32.144-07:00

It's getting late and I'm browsing my RSS feeds while my wife is getting ready for bed. Just browsing, a bit tired and droopy, when I spot this: PlayStation Eye Headtracking Requires Nothing But A Face on Kotaku. My brain ticks over, reconsidering how cool it would be to remove some of the limits. I say reconsidering because I was instantly reminded about the Johnny Lee demo using the WiiMote

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-23910806968170270832008-01-02T09:40:00.000-07:002008-12-12T17:07:59.053-07:00

(Image used without permission from Savage Chickens) Returning to work after the holidays always feels like coming down off of some strange sugar buzz. I've had a week and a half of no responsibility, no deadlines, and little stress. I've had time to read comics, play games, visit family, relax. And while the time off has not been free of busy-ness, it has been free of a lot of the structure that

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-55020084296385320582007-11-26T11:14:00.001-07:002007-11-26T12:05:02.728-07:00

For all of you that noticed that I dropped off of the radar for a while: I'm not dead. I've just been busy. Back in August I wound up in crunch-time developer mode and had no time to blog, let alone keep up with things. By the end of September I was weeks behind in my current news and furiously trying to catch up. Thanks to a combination of Google Reader and fall cleaning, I've fully caught up.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-36286287870071779712007-11-11T15:04:00.001-07:002008-12-12T17:07:59.215-07:00

I woke up this morning and began my day the same way that I've started most of my days for the past couple of months: catching up. I started up my computer, and was shortly reading through e-mails and RSS feeds. A lot of news happens, and there is a lot of information to sift through, especially if some of it has been left to gather.I was neatly stopped in my tracks by an excellent remembrance [

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-51072479539151992642007-07-09T19:40:00.000-06:002007-07-09T19:39:28.151-06:00

I feel like I spent a lot of time tearing down Psychonauts in my last post. While I did feel frustrated during some of the game (especially the later levels), I still found the game very enjoyable. I appreciated the in-game hint system, the forgiving physics (for the most part), and the easy difficulty level. I also enjoyed the story, the characters, and the dialog to no end. There was much

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-52749242374201992942007-07-08T21:50:00.000-06:002007-07-08T21:48:07.779-06:00

Two years ago, before I began Ghosts in the Game, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you the difference between Story and Gameplay in a videogame. This is not because I was a half-wit (despite popular opinion). It was because I didn't know the difference, and I didn't care. I was a consumer of games, books, movies, and music. I loved (and still love) story with a passion and went

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-33407330034477743882007-06-27T20:30:00.000-06:002007-06-28T12:12:40.524-06:00

There has been a lot of Nintendo news in the last couple of days. But the more I look at the bigger picture that Nintendo is painting, the more worried I get that it does not have the Gamer, (Indie) Developer, or Newly Addicted Casual Player at heart. Now, I must confess, I was never a Nintendo Fanboy. Sure the early systems were amazing, but I was one of the few who always found that the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-38210519698851557362007-06-14T09:21:00.000-06:002007-06-14T10:00:38.031-06:00

If you haven't heard me ramble on about GameTap, the you probably haven't been paying attention. If you haven't heard of GameTap at all, then you need to check it out. Turner Broadcasting has, for more than a year, been serving up a great big heap of PC, emulated, and old skool gaming via a subscription game service. This month it shifted into high gear as they released version 3.0 of their

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-72896005313474923852007-06-13T20:56:00.000-06:002007-06-13T20:20:25.721-06:00

Did you know that there are still people complaining about Wii Sports? And half the mini-game based games for the Wii. These rants and screeds usually devolve into complaints about the game graphics, or lack of depth, or even the control scheme. Some even go so far as to claim the Wii has no real staying power because the games released so far have been targeted casual gamers. But Wii Sports

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-7283821806114494042007-06-05T18:26:00.000-06:002007-06-05T18:42:15.240-06:00

In the last couple of days I've taken up Tennis, Bowling, Baseball, Golf, Boxing, Fishing, Billiards (9-ball), Cow Racing, Target Shooting, and a couple of other sports. All without getting off of my couch. Unless I want to.That's right, I got myself a Wii. Thanks to a conspiratorial inside tip at a local Zellers, an early-ish Saturday morning, and the store having enough stock for all that

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-68654470456958544402007-05-29T15:32:00.000-06:002007-05-29T16:03:56.395-06:00

I know that this blog is not widely read. Or at least I knew that last week.I know that I'm not that important. I'm hard to Google. I also know that I don't check very often, I'm not that narcissistic. Seaching "Ghosts in the Game" does find this blog. Searching my common username "GameGhost" pulls up at least couple of hits that are me (the Experimental Gameplay Project, and a wildly out of

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-12423226401737588652007-05-13T15:43:00.000-06:002007-05-13T15:50:50.843-06:00

A local news story talks about how the Wii is being used in a local hospital for rehabilitation. The game system is basically taking the place of a standard rehab activity that would otherwise be boring and tedious. Would you rather punch a balloon or play Wii Sports Boxing?I always like to see positive uses for video games acclaimed. I especially like it when local news talks about it, as

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-78991203706647657222007-04-25T11:59:00.000-06:002007-04-25T12:24:30.209-06:00

It is a busy time this spring. The days are flying past, and I have projects and business galore.And it is also the time of Spring Cleaning. I hate cleaning, especially when it comes to my hard drives. I have a tendency to collect a massive amount of clutter. I also collect a lot of good data. Which means organizing it takes a lot of time. I have to come up with an organization method,

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-81339917280023693412007-04-11T09:54:00.000-06:002007-04-11T10:50:27.279-06:00

The Washington Post has an amazing article (and experiment) on the truth of beauty. Please, read it (link). For those of you daunted by the length of the article, bored by the subject matter, or just too busy to take the time, I'll summarize. The Washington Post asked one of the most renowned and appreciated violinists of our age to preform some of the longest lasting and beautiful music

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-75911519968806247112007-04-04T15:44:00.000-06:002007-04-04T15:46:58.297-06:00

You Are LightningBeautiful yet dangerousPeople will stop and watch you when you appearEven though you're capable of random violenceYou are best known for: your powerYour dominant state: performingWhat Type of Weather Are You?I really have no idea how they got that from the answers I provided. But, cool!

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-49718338817052710842007-03-30T13:01:00.000-06:002007-03-30T13:07:57.726-06:00

Sam & Max Episode 5: Reality 2.0 came out on GameTap yesterday. I also played it yesterday. This is only the second time since the series started that my schedule has been forgiving enough to permit me to play the game as soon as possible (the first being when it premiered back in November). I must say that the episodes just keep getting better. I seriously thought that nothing could top a 20

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-41161696577333310682007-02-26T08:47:00.000-07:002007-02-26T09:44:46.474-07:00

Please know that I'm a BioWare fanboy. A big one. They are my hometown heroes, and I can gush on about their corporate and game histories and achievements for longer then you'd care to listen. Everything they do seems to be done with their community in mind. They make games with care and detail, they provide their own support (and do it better than most others), and they encourage advancements

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-53009034098082500092007-02-15T09:34:00.000-07:002007-02-15T10:46:02.699-07:00

Wikipedia works pretty well when you are popular, established, and provable. It works, with a fair degree of success, for things like games, TV, books, medical terms, and even politics, debates, and history. Of course it fails as a system of information cataloging on a much broader scale. Which makes it useless as a source of information. By design it cannot even be trusted as a reliable

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-23422762819670801642007-02-13T22:41:00.000-07:002007-02-13T22:46:35.543-07:00

It isn't a coincidence that all engaging stories are about someone. Sure, they often stray into the realm of being about something, but while metaphor and meaning are interesting they are not the meat of great tales. It all comes back to character, because character is where conflict and resolution lie. The draw of character is so powerful that many non-fiction writers use it too. The most

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-78803768433906814522007-01-11T09:15:00.000-07:002007-01-11T09:34:45.027-07:00

Giveaway of the Day is a website that offers full copies of licensed software, one a day. Quite often these are the mediocre shareware programs that you can find and download from any number of shareware portals around the internet. Except that Giveaway is offering, for a limited time, a full, registered, and unrestricted copy of the software.Now, not all the downloads are useful. Not all

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-46997739994053756952007-01-06T23:25:00.000-07:002007-01-06T23:56:14.176-07:00

The official reviews of Sam & Max’s second episode are in. I didn’t review it after I played it mostly because I was busy, but also because I played it back in December, via GameTap, before it became widely available. I’m in pretty good agreement with the reviews that I’ve read (link, link, and pdf – near the end): the game is a good second episode, and fans of the series will like it. It is

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-69519803121477970672007-01-05T20:10:00.000-07:002007-01-05T20:12:11.419-07:00

Holidays are weird for me. Especially Christmas. It is, of course, all my parent’s fault. They had to move out, taking my brothers with them, just as I was starting my post-secondary education, winding up an 8-hour drive (10-12 hours by bus) away in what amounts to the middle of nowhere. Well, next door to the middle of nowhere anyhow. This pretty much leaves all the other holidays open for

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-17305701420471130802006-12-20T22:18:00.000-07:002007-01-07T00:04:46.655-07:00

Holiday music usually sends me into a bit of a state. Don’t get me wrong; I love this season, filled to the brim as it is with good will, holiday cheer, and rampant consumerism. The thing that gets me – what really makes me twitch – is the repetitiveness of it. How many times can you listen to “White Christmas”? How many badly sung and poorly arranged pop-girl versions of “Frosty the Snowman”

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-13718430071196736552006-11-16T21:10:00.000-07:002007-01-07T00:05:10.394-07:00

To understand what use a Grammar of Games would be, I’d like to take a walk through the use of grammar in other mediums. I’m treating this as a thought experiment, so please hold onto something; this might become a little bumpy. How about a definition to start us off? Dictionary.com gives us this: the study of the way the sentences of a language are constructed; morphology and

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-65423294166283571122006-11-15T11:12:00.000-07:002006-11-15T12:06:33.736-07:00

Of all the things that I've read over the past couple of weeks since I last posted (I know, I'll work on it), this has bothered me the most. GregT at The Dust Forms Words is forecasting the death of boardgames. I disagree. And I agree. Ok, I'm just conflicted about it. Here's why:I love board games. (In this definition I'll also include PnP RPGs, Card Games, Social Games and anything that

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-64644421775458758842006-11-01T13:51:00.000-07:002006-11-01T14:03:49.228-07:00

It's the Day of the Dead... so go and remember with joy. Also remember these things:Sam & Max, Episode 1: Culture Shock is out. Go and download the demo now.NaNoWriMo starts today. While I will not be participating this year, chances you know someone who is. Like Josh, of Cathode Tan. Send your support.There are only 53 days left to buy Christmas gifts (if you do that sort of thing).There

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-52169157472089054692006-10-30T23:26:00.000-07:002006-10-30T23:29:14.012-07:00

Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock is going public on November 1. It has already been live on GameTap for a couple of weeks now. In honour of its pending release to the unwashed masses (and hopefully to its riotous success) I present an homage and a review. Inauspicious Beginnings Steve Purcell created these dynamic and slightly deranged characters back 1980, where they made their debut on

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-33078619176249658632006-10-18T09:02:00.000-06:002006-10-18T09:28:07.863-06:00

GameTap made me an offer that I simply couldn't refuse. Sam & Max: Season 1, Uru Live (this Christmas, if I don't get an invite to the Beta sooner), and over a dozen other games that I've wanted to play. Or play again. Coupled with a limited time offer of half-price, if I signed up for a year, made the deal too sweet.From my initial impressions, it is going to be worth the money. I've only had a

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-22171720941505127922006-09-21T22:42:00.000-06:002007-01-07T00:05:17.535-07:00

I have a great many “strong convictions” about conventions, or so I have discovered over the past week as I thought about this month’s Round Table topic. By “strong convictions” I mean to say baseless opinions about good design, how to achieve it, what works, what doesn’t, and a raft of other topics. It comes from knowing a lot of theory, but having little practice. In truth, I had a much

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-36058461236266722852006-09-15T21:55:00.000-06:002006-09-15T21:57:06.505-06:00

Timeline (or 2 1/2 Weeks Too Long) Week One – Spinning My Wheels My first week of the competition was spent in Saskatchewan, at my parent’s house. They live in one of the most rural provinces of Canada, in a small town, and half of my family was going to be working for the week that we were there. I took my laptop, loaded with Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition, and high hopes of Getting A

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-20051892942370574632006-09-15T15:47:00.000-06:002006-09-15T16:14:28.932-06:00

So, the Wii press conference was yesterday (link to coverage). Everyone now knows when the Wii will be out (November 19), and how much it will cost ($250 USD). They also know that it will be bundled with Wii Sports, have 30 titles right away, as well as 30 Virtual Console titles to start (ranging from $5-$10). Excited yet?If you are saying, "this is news to ME!" then you need to find a better

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-7531879002126739282006-09-15T10:24:00.000-06:002006-09-15T10:43:19.994-06:00

Yeah, my bad. It's not that I don't love you. It's just that I suck at blogging in general. I have lots of things to say. I thought about posting mini-updates several times in the past week. I didn't though. I was working, or I didn't have time, or I wasn't in front of a computer. Stupid excuses. No glimpse of my working habits here.So, on to news. Last Friday was the Experimental Gameplay

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-77105624800670574312006-09-06T08:52:00.000-06:002006-09-06T09:39:50.086-06:00

When you sit down to design a game, especially when you are working around a simple idea, or striving for a focused gameplay experience, you tend to think along focused lines. I began thinking about Inkblot (in a rough and unfocused sense) back at the end of July when I first read about the Experimental Gameplay Project’s Contest. Over the following weeks, I focused on what I wanted to create,

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-27945774462590672902006-09-04T22:33:00.000-06:002006-09-04T23:05:03.615-06:00

I’ve been slightly absent in my blogging as of late. Not due to inactivity, mind. Just unable to find the time to sit and write. So much for that, I’ll make time. I’m back, and I’m going to make a point of putting updates back on track. If this is coming out all disconnected and strange, it is because my brain is occupied elsewhere; I apologize. First, news: At the beginning of August, the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-3653919555951608402006-08-31T15:20:00.000-06:002006-08-31T15:54:37.774-06:00

I just read something that made me squint, raise one eyebrow, ponder... and then shake my head at the oddity of it all (yes, all of it).For the sake of the link, I was reading Flicker Gaming. Corvus' post about the Xbox 360 (link). What hit me was that for the past year, people in the gaming community (and the reviewing community) have been complaining that the currently available games for the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-1155616848673134522006-08-14T22:37:00.000-06:002007-01-07T00:05:28.617-07:00

Casual games have become an industry buzzword in recent months. A few bean counters discovered that there was money to be made in them thar internets, if only we could tap into all the people who don’t play Counter Strike, or Battlefield, or Half-Life, or Everquest, or World of WarCraft. People who just want to play a simple game, with fun mechanics, for a few minutes at a time will actually

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22152614.post-1154990891868078352006-08-07T16:45:00.000-06:002006-08-07T16:48:11.896-06:00

So, it was my birthday yesterday. I turned 23, had a great day, and feel great, if tired. My parents happened to be in town this weekend, for a short trip that had more to do with getting my brother’s things moved to town. He’s starting university this September. It was also a long weekend. In honour of the day, and because my parents have a lot of people they like to talk with when they are

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13280914228859902589noreply@blogger.com2