Thursday, October 22, 2015
60% of WI disapproves of Walker’s job performance in WPR/St. Norbert poll
This comes from a poll with a small sample: 603. Notables: 57 percent of those polled say that Wisconsin is headed in the wrong direction. Russ Feingold leads against Ron Johnson. 51 percent to 40 percent. 60 percent of Wisconsinites disapprove of the way Scott Walker is doing his job. In fact, 40% of Wisconsinites more »
128GB Nexus 6P Now Up For Pre-Order. Las Vegas Blog
Reported From Area 51.
Ah, the Nexus 6P from Huawei, who’s the 3rd biggest smartphone vendor on the earth for the time being. This is one smartphone in that has undoubtedly wowed folks ever 'cause it was introduced to the … Read the rest
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Central America Trip #6
The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. I’m planning to depart November 30th. While here, I’ll do routine maintenance, minor repairs and major cleaning of the Bronco and motorhome. Since those activities are not particularly intriguing blog subjects, I’m taking you back to my… 2004 Central America trip… This trip ended up
Sunday, October 18, 2015
How AP and the WI press does damage control for Governor Drunken Sailor
Yet again I get the impression that Associated Press does whatever it can to protect and/or repair Scott Walker’s image. Compare the headlines and stories on Walker’s recent FEC filing: From Washington Post (author – Jenna Johnson): How Scott Walker spent $90,000 a day to lose an election From U.S. News and World Report more »
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Everybody didn’t have access to the Democratic Party debate
The editor of Buzzflash at Truthout recently wrote that, “By offering the debates on television only to paid subscribers of television packages that included CNN and Fox News, the most important political interaction between candidates for president of the United States was, essentially, privatized.” If you’re living with a net-enabled digital device seemingly glued to your more »
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition Out Tuesday on PS4, Vita
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition is coming to PS4 and PS Vita on October 13th! For its console release, Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition has been overhauled technically to provide the best experience yet. I’m thrilled to be releasing this narrative-focused, fairly personal game on PlayStation, and to mark the occasion I wanted to share some of the motivation and design behind this project.
Three Fourths Home began development two years before I wrote a single line of code for the game, before I’d ever made a sprite of a car or a cornstalk. Before I’d considered moving back to Nebraska, having lived between Wisconsin and Minnesota since 2008. Before I’d even made a game.
Three Fourths Home didn’t have the most typical pre-production cycle, to say the least. I tend to think of Three Fourths Home’s earliest development having roots in the rough sketches and ridiculous plans that led to [out], my first game. Unsurprisingly, the plans for that game were far too ambitious, and I gave up for a year before using the idea to make an HTML-based text game.
The seeds of Three Fourths Home were sown sometime during that development. I knew that I could tell a story with text – I’d grown up playing games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, and Monkey Island, so I sort of expect I default to “text as story” (perhaps) more often than I should when I think of game narratives – but I also wanted to tell a story with text that connected with a player not only because they were choosing what to say; I wanted players to have a physical connection to the forward momentum of the story itself.
I wanted players to feel the inevitability of the events of the story because they were the ones driving it forward.
I made a few games and prototypes between [out] and Three Fourths Home. They followed a progression of themes: [out] focused on coming out, Letters to Babylon dealt with the possible aftermath. I was working on a follow-up to Letters to Babylon when I had all of my development work stolen. My computer, hard drive, notes, code – gone. Shortly after, I found myself in a situation that forced me to move back to Nebraska, where I’d graduated from high school and promptly moved away from six years prior.
Starting from scratch, in a place I’d never planned on returning to, I set about making a new game that continued on with some of the themes that were explored in my previous games. With my own circumstances staring me in the face, I decided to draw from them. I wrote Three Fourths Home, starting with Ben’s story, but still needed a way to tie the player to the forward momentum of the story.
Making players drive a car was perhaps the most literal interpretation, but it worked. The story in Three Fourths Home will not progress unless you are pressing the pedal, making the protagonist Kelly barrel forward to the inevitability of the game’s conclusion. You can’t avoid the forward progression. Sure, you can dawdle and pretend that something will happen if you sit and wait, but it’s just biding time until the inevitable.
Until you realize that in the years you’ve been gone, Nebraska has changed. Your family has changed. It’s not the way you left it, and you’re not sure how to deal with it.
And above it all, disaster sits and waits to descend. A ruinous thing that will expose the rot eating away at everything you’d considered steadfast and reliable.
Once you’re Three Fourths Home.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Are You Nuts About the New Drama?. Las Vegas Blog mgm
Reported From Area 51.
The- CW has premiered a brand new drama. It is titled Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and, no, it is not about Taylor Swift. (We kid, T. Swizzle. And we love you!) Instead, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season schedule 1 Episode … Read the rest
James Taylor's mother Gertrude dies at the age of 94. Las Vegas Blog mgm
Reported From Area 51.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Oct. 12 (UPI) — Gertrude Woodard Taylor, the mom of singer-songwriter James Taylor, has died at the age of 94, the musician formally announced on his web site Mon.. “I’m deeply grateful for … Read the rest
Kristen Stewart Predicted the 'Twilight' Gender Swap Back in 2012! (Video). Las Vegas Blog mgm
Reported From Area 51.
Kristen Stewart walks to her location on the set of her untitled Woody Allen movie on Mon. (Oct. 12) in NYC. The- 25-year-old actress stopped by an area food market to grab some lunch throughout her … Read the rest
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Steven Moffat knows you hate ‘Doctor Who’s’ sonic sun shades. Las Vegas Blog
Reported From Area 51.
In fact you’re nonetheless upset in that “Doctor Who” decided to eliminate the sonic screwdriver for one thing as foolish as Ray Bans & showrunner Steven Moffat hears your rage. Sadly for you, he just does … Read the rest
Monday, October 5, 2015
Al Jazeera America feature on Madison, Wisconsin homelessness
A friend of mine had shared this story on facebook and I idly clicked it not knowing what I was in for. I saw the string of cars and vans along a curved street and thought, “Hey. That looks sorta like that area by Milwaukee Street.” Oh. That *IS* that area by Milwaukee Street. The more »
Al Jazeera America feature on Madison, Wisconsin homelessness
A friend of mine had shared this story on facebook and I idly clicked it not knowing what I was in for. I saw the string of cars and vans along a curved street and thought, “Hey. That looks sorta like that area by Milwaukee Street.” Oh. That *IS* that area by Milwaukee Street. The more »