July 2009
The 20 Greatest Historical Myths —... →
fwarg:
a little bit depressing because they are great, great stories
I knew a few of these. Not the first, though. That’s pretty cool.
“A Certain critic — for such men, I regret to say, do exist — made the nasty...”
– The Preface to Summer Lightning, in Life at Blandings, which I found in my book box while unpacking today. (via eush)
UK space programme suffers serious setback →
(El Reg) Cheese, Gromit!
“The enemy of every author is not piracy, but obscurity.”
– Chris Anderson (via amplequotes)
101 Free Games 2009: The Best Free Games on the... →
(1UP.com) An exhaustive list. Last year’s list was impressive, as was the list the previous year. I don’t think this year’s list is any different.
Student Thesis: Adaptive Music for Video Games →
(GameCareerGuide.com) A thesis paper on adaptive soundtracks for games, ie music that changes appropriately to suit the current events in-game (via Gamasutra).
“The film will be produced by prolific shit merchant Steven Paul, a tireless...”
– Today in classic video game adaptation news: Saw director to helm Castlevania movie (A.V. Club). I’ve never played a Castlevania game, but this sounds like bad news.
Arkham Asylum is Hardcasual’s Game of the Decade! →
Apple Claims New iPhone Only Visible To Most Loyal... →
The Onion, via @mollydot and @tpohare.
“Life, the Universe and Everything” was the only...
(via fuckyeahdouglasadams)
Pirate Bay Sale Dead in the Water →
(TorrentFreak) “… Like a candle in the wind…”
Word Journal Submissions →
It’s your turn to post obscure words derived from Ancient Greek or Latin (via tristn)!
(I’ll keep doing it, I just want someone else to join in…)
A Dungeons and Dragons Game
whattobring:
A set of dice (4 sided, 6 sided, 8 sided, 10 sided, 12 sided, 20 sided)
Monster Manual
Players Handbook
Dungeon Master’s Guide
Snacks to share
Character sheet
Pencils
Eraser
The DMG and MM are optional unless you’re the DM, in which case they’re essential, and I’d add DM Screen to that list. Also, I’d bring 1d4, 4d6, 2d8, 2d10 (for percentile...
Vote in the ENnie Awards 2009! →
You’d probably believe that Mouse Guard was nominated for something, considering most of my posts today. And you’d be right. For Best Interior Art, Best Production Values, and Best Product of the Year, to be exact. As well as that, Archaia Studios was nominated for the Fan Award for Best Publisher.
OK, I’ll stop talking about Mouse Guard (for now…).
SHORTLIST FOR 2009 DIANA JONES AWARD ANNOUNCED →
(via Robin D. Laws) The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming. It can be awarded to a group, a trend, an RPG, a board game, anything to do with gaming. Irish Gaming Convention Charity Auctions won in 2006, resulting in it touring Irish conventions for the entire year. Here’s the shortlist:
Dominion, a card game by Donald X. Vaccarino (published by Rio Grande Games)
Dungeons &...
Origins Awards 2009 →
(Critical Hits) The winners of the 2009 Origins Awards. Mouse Guard, the game I’ve been raving about on Twitter, beat DnD 4th edition for Best RPG.
Pandemic: American Swine →
nostrich:
A new Pandemic game! Pandemic 2 was one of my favourite flash games ever. This one turns the tables, and rather than attempting to spread a virus, you have to stop it spreading. And yes, the virus you have to stop is Swine Flu, of course. (I’m surprised a game like this took so long to appear.)
It’s a lot harder and strategy-based than Pandemic 2, which is perfect, since it didn’t...
17 Steps to GMing a New RPG for the First Time →
(Gnome Stew) An excellent read. I’ll be using this the next time I run Paranoia at a con (which means I should probably write a scenario that I CAN run at a con…).
Analysis: The Game Design Lessons Of Permadeath →
(Gamasutra) An article discussing the carrot-stick usage of permadeath in games, particularly roguelikes, though Left4Dead, Spelunkey and Dwarf Fortress are also mentioned.
The basic premise of the article is that permadeath prevents users from beating a game through “rote learning”, and forces them to become skillful at the game, learning its various nuances. It also prevents...
Is Swine Flu Man-Made?
nostrich:
…
The recent string of catastrophes — 9/11 (apparently still considered recent), the London bombings, the Iraq war, the recession, Bird Flu, Swine Flu — were all a set up, and are a clear sign that the government are trying to scare “us” into submission. This approach is modelled on China, apparently.
…
I find it really upsetting that I have to be so embarrassed of...
Interview: Rockin' Android On Bringing Japanese... →
(Gamasutra) This is partially for nostrich, but mostly because it’s awesome. The guy who founded the company really seems to be a fan. Let’s hope he gets some of the really big names.
Bing Users' Click-Through Rate 55% Higher Than... →
(Slashdot) tl;dr: “people who use Bing are far more susceptible to advertising”.
“What IP blocks do their corporate offices have? If they’re really cutting off my...”
– xkcd is now blocking AT&T [reddit: AT&T blocking all access to img.4chan.org.] (via tristn)
