Archive for the ‘Playing’ Category

It’s so simple. Brightly colored shapes of different sizes lazily drop down into your box or whatever and you have the time they fall to rotate and move them so they fit snugly into the openings below. No problem. Anyone can play it, even if they’ve never played a video game before.

And then it gets faster. And then you realize you’ve been playing it for 7 hours and you’re hungry and tired and slightly dizzy and your hands are cramping and you still can’t stop playing.

Tetris was invented on June 6, 1984, by Russian mathematician Alexey Pajitnov as a hobby away from his actual field, which was artificial intelligence. Which just makes me suspicious, of course. Was this the first step towards AI? Was my computer somehow learning me through my block choices? Was I being subtly manipulated, maybe with harder games thrown at me on key dates, making me frustrated and irritable for a job interview or security briefing? Or throwing me easy games, making me smug and overconfident and possibly a little bit lax?

I’ve never actually had any sort of security position, but I think the principle is sound. Either way, I wasted a lot of time playing this damn game. So did a lot of people.

It’s the second most popular video game of all time, selling over 70 million copies. 25 years later, it’s still everywhere. It’s available on just about  every PC and video game platform there is, and also on mobile phones, PDAs, graphical calculators, even hidden on electronic devices that aren’t meant to have games on them, like oscilloscopes.

From a Russian guy who was working on artificial intelligence.

I’m just sayin’. Don’t blame me when our new tetrominoid overlords rise up and take over to the strains of tinny Russian folk music.

Also, today’s Google logo is cool.

Artist Jonathan Baldwin has created an extremely limited edition (i.e. 1 of 1) board game based loosely on Hunter S. Thompson’s immortal tome, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Packed in a suitcase, you get rows of phenethylamines, game cards, stimulants, a board, hallucinogens, game pieces, petri dishes, adventure cards, a shot glass, and much more.

OK, the drugs are lookalike fakes, but still, this is an amazing work that you’ll never, ever get through airport security. Apparently designed to be played over a weekend of debauchery, gameplay includes “activities” such as going to a fair and inquiring about the price of one of the apes “with the most serious face you can manage,” and challenges such as catching two of three things hurled at you while someone flicks the lights on and off. There are also dosage cards letting you know what all the fake drugs do.

Just add some grapefruit and a few bats and you’ve got the makings of a great game for the whole family for just $3,500! Which is certainly cheaper than assembling an actual suitcase full of drugs, plus hotel room repair charges. Check out lots of pics here.

(thanks to boingboing.net)

Courtesy Playmates Toys

New Star Trek movie? New Star Trek toys. It’s a fact of life, a universal constant, a law of brightly-colored, polypropylene nature.

“Thou shalt exalt every franchise movie, yea, unto the seventh generation, with a full line of toys, dishware, tie-in novels, comics, and commemorative plates, all of them limited-edition-collectible-first-run-mint artifacts to be treasured from a distance behind velvet ropes and saved for future generations to also not touch.”

That’s the way it’s been for toys from Star Trek, Star Wars, and superheroes of all stripes for years now. Ever since some enterprising geek sold his pristine childhood memory for more than the one with chew marks and its head missing, new toys have been carefully removed from the peghooks at Walmart and Toys-R-Us and lovingly transported to their new and permanent home in a storage locker while the new owner enjoys the smug satisfaction of knowing it’s there, somewhere.

I’ve never been a good collector. I open my stuff. I sort of always thought that was the point. When I was a kid if someone told me my toys were collectible I’d have thought they meant finding all the pieces again. Back in the 70s I asked for and received the original line of Star Trek dolls from Mego ($2.87 each, any two for $5.50), complete with vinyl-and-cardboard Bridge set ($12.97, with working transporter!). And I can guarantee that the crew of the Enterprise never had a more harrowing mission than the ones they experienced daily in my backyard.

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New from Margaret Weis Productions, a new expansion for the award-winning Serenity RPG.

“Serenity Adventures” is an anthology-style collection of five complete RPG games written by both new and established authors in the game industry. In it, you’ll find “Ghosts of the Rebellion” by James Davenport (Serenity RPG), “The Best Things Get Better With Age” by Alana Abbot (”Into the Reach”), “Freedoms Flight” by Ted Reed, “Seven Arks of Cibola” by Billy Aguiar, and “Mother Load” by James M. Ward (”Metamorphosis Alpha”). Like the original book the interior graphics design is by 11th Hour, but there’s lots of artwork by other artists in there as well and a cover by Digger Hayes.

On shelves now at TFAW and other retail stores. It’s not in the store at Margaret Weis Productions yet, but you can preorder a copy signed by Margaret Weis and jamie Chambers (link goes to the store; search for “Serenity”). Or you can build a downloadable PDf immediately by going here.

In the meantime, the folks at MW have been producing little add-ons and extras for free download, such as Sam’s Smuggler Emporium and a cortex newsfeed with some interesting info.

Remember how excited we all were when Multiverse announced they were doing a Firefly MMO game?

Remember how we really haven’t heard much about it since then?

FOX and Multiverse have announced they’re coming out with an online Buffy game, which is all well and good, and oh, by the way, the Firefly game is on hold.

Fox is delaying further development and release of the announced-in-2006 MMO, Firefly. Originally set to be released in 2008, the game has yet to have any major presence; no screenshots, trailers, or betas have hit the scene, and now it seems none will until the Buffy game is completed.

This is because vampires are in again, isn’rt it? I blame Facebook.

There a couple of different people/groups currently working on different ‘verse maps that I know of, and it’s gonna be fun watching them get sorted out. But in the meantime Josh Awtry of the incredible FireflyRPG site — where all the extra stuff you need to make your Serenity RPG amazing are there, for free — has produced a couple of great ones.

Shown above is the new Habitable Worlds map, depicting some of the notable worlds in the Core, Border, and Rim areas, with details. Even more astounding to me is the Astral Navigation chart to help you figure out how long it’ll take for your characters to get from here to there in a moving universe. That’s one you’ll want to have printed as a poster, it’s that good. And, like everything else at FireflyRPG, it’s free!

I’ve mentioned Stevo’s Toys (formerly The Toy Smith) here before, but he’s been adding more stuff. If you’re making your own set of Firefly dolls or if you just want Ken and Barbie to have some protection against those shady Bratz girls, you definitely need to stop by.

Stevo designs sci-fi and movie-inspired weapons and accessories in 1:6 scale, perfect for 12″ figures.  First up, Mal’s gun.

It’s got the familiar outline and, being made of pewter, it’s got some heft. Way better than G.I. Joe’s plastic stuff. It’s sold separately or as a set with the custom holster rig.

We wouldn’t want Zoe going around unarmed, so her modified Winchester Carbine is ready to go. Again, it’s available separately or with her very distinctive holster rig with that unique leather coloring.

So far, Jayne’s just got a knife. But it’s a really nice one, complete with tooled leather sheath. I can only hope that Vera is on her way…

As someone who has been working on a set of Firefly Barbies for some time — or rather, watching in amazement as my wife creates them — I have to say these are easily the finest replica weapons I’ve seen. We had to make do with close-enough versions from other toy dealers, but I’m thinking we’ll be upgrading.

Stevo also had a wide range of other items including Dirty Harry’s .357 magnum, pirate gear, a wide range of classic and modern weaponry, even a selection of felt hats. Check it out!

> Chris says “Want to jump into the ‘Verse and start roleplaying your own Serenity games, but you don’t have people handy to play with?”
> Chris says “No problem! Just get into the SerenityMUSH and get started!”
> Chris points to www.serenitymush.com for more information.
> You are welcomed into an online, text-based, multi-user world of Browncoats, purplebellies, Companions, Shephered, Reavers, Readers, and more, all laid out and ready for you to play.
> You log in to telnet://serenitymush.com:2020 with your free MUSH software client, available from several sources such as PennMUSH, and you create your character by choosing your archetype (think “character class,” but not as limiting) and generating your stats, feats, skills, background, appearance, etc. Your brand new character will get dropped at the Persephone spaceport and then it’s time to get going, you’ve got a life to live and it ain’t easy, out in the black.
> Chris says “SerenityMUSH” puts a heavy emphasis on roleplaying, to the point where you have to get permission to be Alliance or a Companion (since they both require higher-than-average RPing skills) and you can’t be a Reader without Admin invitation, and then only after you’ve proven yourself for awhile. There’s a wide variety of settings, planets, situations, and other people to interact with, and the system uses HSpace for 3D ship navigation, combat, repairs, etc.”
> Chris smiles wryly. “That said, I’ve never played a MUSH, including this one, so I can’t speak from experience, although I’m sure that like any RP game a lot depends on getting the right group of people together. However, there’s a nice review of the game here, and according to this reviewer the SerenityMUSH, like most Browncoat endeavors, seems to attract good people.”
> Chris spread his hands and asks “Anyone out there tried it? What did you think?”

In the always-fun-to-read comic book “Y the Last Man” by Brian K Vaughn, all of mankind has been wiped off the face of the earth, leaving all of womankind to recreate a society. Well, almost all of mankind; there’s still Yorick, the sole surviving and somewhat helpless guy. And many of the surviving women want to get ahold of him so they can procreate with him or kill him, and often both. Lots of twists and surprises, great dialogue, and an action-packed journey across America. Perfect for a video game, wouldn’t you say?

The folks at Packet Switched Press think so and they mocked up a trailer for the game, with explanations of game play. One innovative aspect, to make use of the newer widescreen monitors, is the 4-paned screen that gives you a large window showing where your focus is, while 3 smaller windows to the side can show you different POVs of the same scene or different scenes altogether, since in Vaughn’s layer-heavy stories there’s a lot going on at the same time. There are also suggestions that the players be able to click on Autopilot and just enjoy the story.

Has anyone approached Vaughn or DC Comics about making a Y game? No clue. But this would be a good start.

The sun rose reluctantly, carefully stretching its wan rays of light through the misty morning fog air to rest on the huddled forms on the sidewalk. One of them stirred, a tousled head emerging with a yawn. “Is it time yet? Are they here?”

Next to him his comrades slowly struggled to their feet, swaying slightly. They were bundled in coats, knit hats, and blankets against the chill but their steely eyes blazed with resolute purpose. There was a palpable feel of intense anticipation; these people had a mission and they were determined to see it through, no matter the cost. For hours they had waited in hardship, with hours more to come, and still there was no sign of wavering or weakness. I was one of them, holding silent vigil in the December morning, and my goal was as clear as the paper sign taped to the wall: “Nintendo Wii Line Starts Here.”

I was one of the greenest, having arrived at a measely 6 a.m., only two hours before the stated sell time. Hard-bitten veterans near the front of the line had been bivouaced for days, with their base camps of sleeping bags and massive Thermos mugs established on the Wal-Mart sidewalk. They talked among themselves in spirited terms as they shared donuts and power bars, laughing and confident of their success.

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