Hold the Peppers

It's funny watching these things unfold in real time in the modern era because, for a brief period of time today, Michael Jackson was simultaneously alive AND dead, depending on which website I was looking at.

"Thought experiment" my ass...

Terminator: Salvation: The loudest Terminator movie yet.

I have a new project underway! I like to think of it as a fully interactive sort of hybrid Tamaguchi/Alternate Reality Game. Expected release date is at the end of November. Early concept art behind the cut:

( New Project Concept Art... )

Current Mood: ecstatic

It's go to know, in these uncertain economic times, that Hewlitt-Packard is apparently doing well enough that they can afford to willfully throw away a customer by refusing to repair a computer they have freely admitted is a lemon.

Especially given that that customer is now in the market for a new computer to replace his lemon.

So. Angry.

Current Mood: pissed off

Anybody out there got a 4-5 year old computer and 5 minutes of free time today? I need some help running an experiment.

1) UR CHEEZBURGER. Also, to drink your milkshake

2) A freeze ray (not a death ray or an ice beam)

3) My eyebrows to finally start growing back

4) For all to tremble and kneel before me! KNEEL!

5) State of the Union: The Musical!

6) The cheat codes to the game of Life

7) Better PR

8) A prehensile tail

9) Vin Diesel and John Boehner going head to head in Thunderdome (two men enter, one man leaves; either way I win)

10) A stable economy, universal health care, rebuilt infrastructure, and energy independence, all wrapped in a pretty blue bow (NOTE: A red bow is NOT sufficient)

Current Mood: good

If y'all haven't seen the "new" 8-bit Minutemen video game (by Veidt Industries, naturally) that's part of the viral campaign for Watchmen, y'all are missing out. You can find it here.

They're having way too much fun with this thing. I really hope it doesn't suck.

Current Mood: amused

Quantum of Solace: A crime against cinema

Current Mood: disappointed

To all who are confused, it means a moment or sliver of comfort or peace.

Current Mood: megagaltastic

So, Truth Invaders is now out there and is picking up some steam. But with the election only two weeks away, I'd like it to be picking up a little more steam than it is.

So I'm asking anyone reading this who wants to help support the game to help me publicize it.

The biggest thing you can do to help is to suggest it to other bloggers, especially big ones. If there are popular blogs that you read, whose writers and readers you think would get a kick out of it, drop 'em a quick line to tell them about it.

Other things you can do that would be great:

1) Post it on your LJ or blog (if you haven't already)

2) E-mail your friends (if you haven't already)

3) Become a fan on Facebook (if you haven't already)

4) Digg us, Fark us, Delicious us, or Slashdot us (if you haven't already)

5) Tattoo us on your forehead (if you haven't already)

Thanks for helping out...

Having just finished reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, I find myself for the first time tempted to actually write fan-fic, exploring the relationship that might emerge between Mr. Norrell and Professor Dolores Umbridge...

Current Mood: amused

My new game is now up and live: Truth Invaders!

Tired of the political lies being flung around this elections season? This is your chance to fight back! Blow away the lies to reveal the truth behind them.

If you like it, spread the word. Either way, spread the truth.

Current Mood: excited

If you're anything like me (and many of you are), then you are probably getting pretty sick and tired of the disgusting number of blatant, flat-out falsehoods that are being thrown around in this election season, mostly (tho' by all means not exclusively) by the right-wing.

I am, in fact, sufficiently sick and tired that I've decided to try and do something about it.

I've decided to pull together a game: Truth Invaders

Truth Invaders will be a Space Invaders parody in which the player shoots at the text of a lie, destroying each word in the lie and converting it to a word in the truth hidden behind it. While they do this, the lie descends from the top of the screen trying to crush the player to death.

Each level will represent one lie. Victory in the level will provide a series of links related to the lie in question, allowing players to dig into the facts to discover the truth for themselves.

My target audience is undecided voters, mainly younger ones, who may not have come to a full political awareness yet, and may not realize how much of what is being said out there is bald-faced fabrication.

My intent, ideally, is to post it as an on-line Flash game. It would also be great, if possible, to build it as a Facebook or MySpace app, to hopefully get it spreading through the social networking universe as well.

I mention this because I figure that this thing needs to get up and posted in two weeks tops, or it's just not really worth doing. And I'm quite certain that I can't do it alone.

So, if anyone has free time and would like to help out, I'm going to find myself in need of aid in the following areas:

1) Flash programming
2) Art
3) Web Design
4) Web Hosting
5) Fact checking/Writing

Please lemme know if you're interested and able to help.

The wife and I are finally back home. Mostly, anyway. I'm pretty sure that my brain is still somewhere over the Pacific, but I expect it will catch up with us sometime soon.

The trip was a lot of fun, even if there was a trifle more being sick involved than I would have liked. Now we're back, and the piled up work we left behind is banging, banging, banging on the door.

The travelogue is written, but needs it some editing. We'll be e-mailing it out to those who want as it gets done.

More to come, never fear.

Anyone available this weekend for more playtesting? Default times are Saturday, Noon and 2 PM Pacific (3 and 5 Eastern), but I'm willing to work around people's schedules.

If anyone's interested and/or available, I've got open slots for more playtests tonight: at 5:30 Pacific/8:30 Eastern and at 8:30 Pacific/11:30 Eastern. Three open slots for each.

Things I may not have mentioned about the game, but probably should:

1) It's a chat-based, How To Host a Murder-like game, rather than any kind of twitch game or button-mashing experience. Physical dexterity or game-playing acumen is not required. If you've been silent on stepping forward because of that, be silent no more.

2) It's web based, so you can play from home.

3) It's FUN!

4) I now have the budget to pay playtesters ten shiny, shiny dollars for playing! That's right! Play a game, and get ice cream money for free! That's like getting free ice cream!

5) Everyone likes free ice cream!

Shoot me a line if you're available. If you aren't available, but know someone who might be interested, please let me know that, too.

I'm still in dire need of playtesters, so please, if you're interested and available, drop me a line in the comments below. My next round of playtests will be:

Wednesday, June 11th at 5:30 PM Pacific/8:30 PM Eastern
Wednesday, June 11that 8:30 PM Pacific/11:30 PM Eastern.

Saturday, June 14th at 1 PM Pacific/4 PM Eastern
Saturday, June 14th at 3 PM Pacific/6 PM Eastern

Testimony from those who've tried already say it's fun! Fun! You like fun, don't you? And it just keeps getting MORE fun! That's what playtesting is all about!

There are plenty of scenarios to be played, so even if you've played before, you can play again. Total time commitment is between an hour and an hour and a half.

Please? Oh, lord, please.

Will it never end?!

No. It won't. Not for awhile.

I'm running some more playtests of my new counter-terrorism game this weekend. It will take about an hour of your time. The only requirements are a phone connection and an internet connection. People who've already played it, I've got some new scenarios to throw in the mix this time, so you're welcome to try it again!

This time, playtests are scheduled for the weekend. I'd like to do two rounds on Saturday, June 7th, one at 1:00 PM Pacific, the other at 2:30 PM Pacific.

Any volunteers?

- I am literally swimming in projects right now. I have, no kidding, attained milestones on four different projects this week. And that's in a short week. And some of them even pay!

- The manager of the local Starbucks has put out business cards for comments and such. Her last name, apparently, is "Hurlbutt". Yeah. That didn't cause her problems on the playground or anything.

- I hadn't been planning on getting a full suite of 4th Ed. D&D books, but they are currently stupid cheap on Amazon.

That is all.

Anybody willing to volunteer about 30-45 minutes of their time to help me playtest a new counter-terrorism game I'm working on? Target time would be 6 PM Pacific (9 Eastern) on Wednesday night. The only things required are a web-browser, a phone, and not having already playtested this particular game. You know who you are.