toblix

Maybe you'll find your answer here. Or here if you can stand spoilers.

Doesn't Valve typically announce stuff by having an intricate ARG and then a new web site? When did they last announce a new game on some convention/keynote?

Child+video games seem to entail two extremes on the spectrum of awesomeness: Not being able to play video games for a long period of time, and being able to introduce your child to video games. And speaking of the Oculus Rift, none of the cast was excited at all for it. Is it because it's still at an early technological stage, or don't you consider VR, even in an ideal, non-clunky form, something that will let video games be "better" (in whatever way)? I'm super-excited about it, because I'm a big fan of physical immersion (if that's the right term), and I'm drawn to games that puts me in locations that feel real. This is probably the main reason I'm such a big Myst-fan; that kind of immersion is maybe the most important aspect of those games. Don't you want to be in the game?

I really like the stereo too. It's a nice, subtle mix that works in both proper stereo and "one-bud-in" mono. Have you done any comparisons on file size? I think I remember you mentioning that as a concern – I assume there wasn't a huge difference?

Every time I like a game I imagine making something like it. The most fleeting and useless of all video game motivations, I know. Separately from those, my most frequently actually started and restarted game project is a Super Cars type top-down 2D racer. Obviously I start the wrong way by attacking the core physics of it, and after a short while (half an hour to a week) I lose motivation because I know that, hey, I'm not actually going to make a game, so why waste my time, right? Then I go to reddit and see if something new has come up. I've had some adventure game ideas too, but they're mostly based around environments and maybe some abstract puzzle ideas I would like, but even then I give up half-way through some awful Fate of Atlantis style background or grid-paper schematic. If I had the endurance and determination of a real indie game developer, I could probably make a fun little game in Flash or Unity or on a canvas element. Alas, the world will never play my games.

I've played half an hour or so. I really like the look of the levels, with a lot of background/foreground details everywhere. The puzzles have been okay, and the thing you are controls really well with a gamepad. For however much it costs, it's worth it if you like solving physical and abstract puzzles by hauling shit around.

Yeah, I was expecting Sawyer too. A new Transport Tycoon or Locomotion would be sweet, I tell myself.

It's a bit weird that they don't mention that you'll still only be able to use OnLive if it's available in your country. They've still only rolled out their service in a handful of countries, no?

Someone made a bunch of animated gifs from fighting game backgrounds. I don't know what the game is, or games are, but I know I can look at this stuff forever. Here's one:

Yeah, no, the animated wallpaper was one of those Windows 7 UltimateExtraz things.

O think they're heavy on the "on your TV" thing just because it's Android, and they want to focus on the fact that it's not a phone.

That's awesome, and what I imagine is what serious gamer klanz are doing. I'm more the kind of person who says "enemies to the right!" referring, of course, to my, personal and unique right.

I did! I just never said anything.

As long as the people you're chatting with are cool guys, I think all games get better, co-op ones in particular. For competitive games, it's also better, but then more as a social thing. I'm basing this on having played a lot of thumbs co-op games (Portal 2, Arma 2, the L4D games, Resident Evil 5) and a whole lot of GTA IV. In Portal 2 PiratePoo could use voice chat to easily deride and taunt me into figuring out puzzles for him, and in GTA IV everyone but me could talk about Pokémon and shit.

The best thing about this whole thing is that it gives me a reason to link to this.

Okay, done. Graphics are great. I really like the Shadow Complex style of 2D cutout of 3D, but with the 3D weirdly bleeding in (zombies coming in from the background, etc.) All the locations are beautiful . Some of the traversal is fun. When they hit that perfect balance of having to avoid zombies whilst also having to figure out some environmental obstacle, it's really great. Some great animation, like when you change direction whilst sprinting, and when zombies try to cross some waist-hight obstacle. I experienced a great little moment late in the game, It instantly brought me back to Delphine Software perfect action/adventure mix. Sadly, that only lasted for five seconds. As everyone has pointed out, the dialogue is pretty bad throughout, and some of the voice acting is atrocious. The story is what you get when you open up a template in Game Story Workshop. It goes downhill right from the start, and at the end you really don't care about anything. The movement controls are bad, which is fine, but only when you're not forced to do a lot of tightly timed platforming, which you are. A lot of times your guy jumps off in the wrong direction and you're sent back to the checkpoint. The combat controls are shit. Whenever you encounter more than two zombies say goodbye to having a good time. The entire middle act (the Rat Man OH SHIT SPOILER) is pure, unfiltered shit. Unpredictable traps and a lot of uninteresting trial-and-error platforming. I have no friends, so I'm unable to get that last achievement. If someone with Deadlight adds me as their friend, or someone who has me as their friend gets Deadlight and plays it I'll buy them something on Steam.

Sounds like someone hasn't heard of the fourth safesearch setting.

Emergency room maybe?

I've played a few hours of this, and I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. There are enough good things here to keep me playing, but there's so much lameness too, especially in the part I just played. And the dialogue is just atrocious.

Phew, turns out Far Cry 3 will address the issue of all video games being about shooting everyone. Oh! Oh. Read all about it!

Hilarious joke about wallets! Annoyingly, when I loaded up the store, one of the nine deals of the day was a gray square saying "SORRY THIS GAME IS NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION" Oh, also Crusader Kings 2 is 75% off.

Shut up and buy games.

I want to be there, but can't.

It's probably a bit too much, but it would be cool if there was an embedded Flash (or Silverlight) mini-game in which the message has been written in a notebook, and you have to drag a virtual pencil back and forth to reveal it. It could be linked into a whole forum meta-game in which you take on a "persona" and group up with other people to do quests and

Jonathan Blow about console certification processes (Microsoft's in particular,) and how they need to change but likely won't: http://the-witness.net/news/2012/07/thoughts-on-consoles-and-certification-processes/ The rules he mention are just ridiculous, like everyone having to implement their own screen calibration, and not having a reliable system-wide save system. I'm pretty sure he's correct at the end about what's going to happen with the next generation of consoles. A lot of tiny changes that gives us eight more years of optical media in plastic boxes, terrible user interfaces, more NHFBL Football Live Madden and less video games.