Merry Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas everybody! Brace yourself for 2009!

Video Games That are Freely Available

I told my brother that I'd post an entry with some of the freely available video games I am playing. I listen to the Bytejacker netcast for the latest in free indie games. The host does a good job of covering everything from downloadable games for consoles to Flash games.

The adventure game genre has totally been snubbed by all of the mainstream game studios. Thankfully, several indie developers have stepped up to produce some great games. I enjoyed Spooks produced by Erin Robinson. While I did get stuck once or twice, I felt compelled to figure out the puzzles and finish the game.

Here are other adventure games on my list of titles I plan to check out: Cave Story, Dirty Split, Duty and Beyond, Kaptain Brawe, Life of D. Duke II, Loftus and the Sky Cap, Reactor 9, The Chef, The Guardian of Paradise and The Winter Rose.

A few weeks ago I went to over to my buddy Tom E.'s place to play some Duke Nukem 3D. The game was released by 3D Realms way back in 1996. Thanks to the efforts of the guys over at EDuke32 it is possible to play it on Windows Vista PCs. It was painful getting a networked game going. But we had fun once we worked it out.

Then we tried a game of the one of my favorite pointless games called Red Pixel. It is a multiplayer deathmatch in which you can destroy parts of the world. It was fun to blast away for a while. But soon it became tedious. With more players the game becomes mass chaos! Basically it has all of the fun of a modern first-person shooter without all of the eye candy.

I found this Java-based game I like called Breaking the Tower. It is the closest I have come to enjoying a strategy game since Dune II. No, I am not going to crab about the things that modern RTS games do wrong. Also, I have no schadenfreude when the folks who make those games fail. Hey guys, maybe you could make some nice adventure games instead!

There are scores of Flash-based games available. At best most of them are forgettable. I like 41st Reality for its catchy soundtrack and decent design.

Lastly, another genre that has been snubbed these days is the space simulation shooter. I recently installed Freespace 2 (FS2) thanks to the FreeSpace Open Installer. Now I am playing through the game again. It is amazing that its creator, Volition, managed to produce the game in under a year. It helped that they were able to leverage the work that they had done for the first Freespace game. FS2 features a deep story and awe inspiring effects such as beautiful nebula clouds that wreak havoc on your sensors and battles with massive capital ships that shoot impressive beam weapons. If there is a genre that is crying out for a revival, it is this one! Can you imagine a big battlefield filled with a great number of space ships each lovingly rendered with shader magic and high polygon count love? Be still my heart.

Host a LAN Party

When I was back home visiting relatives for Thanksgiving, my brother told me he was planning on a having a LAN party. For those who don't know LAN parties are events where people bring their computers, network them together and play multiplayer games. What follows is some sage advice I have gleaned from organizing several LAN parties.

First of all as the host you have to choose the location. Make sure there is plenty of power to supply everyone. The largest event I had involved 11 computers. I planned to spread the participants over two floors of my house. But everyone choose to set up in my basement. Thankfully, there were no power issues.

Here is a list of items the host should provide (or ask somebody to bring)

LAN PARTY HOST

• Network Switch - Switches are good; hubs are an adequate alternative. These days most cheap switches made for home networks have 4-5 ports. Make sure you have enough ports and crossover cables to support the number of intended players. Ask somebody to bring a switch/hub if you don't have enough.
• Wireless Router - It is common that laptops have wireless network cards built into them. A wireless router can handle the assigning of IP addresses (DHCP) to both wired PCs and wireless laptops.
• List of Games - Do some research. Many multiplayer games have demos that are freely available. Try some of them out and see what you like. Provide a list of games to your guests so they can install them before the event. Oh yeah, pirating computer games is evil. I don't care how you justify it to yourself. Don't do it!
• Food - Something that has worked for me is to ask for donations for pizza/soda. You can have a donation jar. If donations are low, carry the jar around to the guests. You do not get any points for subtlety.

Watching people play computer games is lame (kinda like watching televised poker *yawn*). If you show up to a LAN party, be prepared to participate. There are several things which guests should be expected to bring. The following is a list of those items.

LAN PARTY GUESTS

• Functioning Computer - Hey, any of yose guys know how to install an operating system? Although there are usually a lot of technically saavy folks who can help, it is a bummer to spend your time working on your rig.
• LCD Monitor - Limit yourself to a single monitor. Multi-monitor setups are pretty common these days, but aren't really necessary for LAN play. Also, LCD monitors are infinitely more portable than the old CRTs.
• Network Cable - Wireless connections will never beat the performance of a wired connection. For that you need a network cable. Bring an extra if you have one.
• Powerstrip - A powerstrip with a surge protector is invaluable. Daisy-chaining strips is not recommended. But if you find it necessary, limit the chaining.
• Headphones - There is a lot of noise at a LAN party. If everyone brought speakers, it would be even louder. Headphones also have the benefit of allowing you sneak up on your friend in a game without announcing the approach over your speakers.

I should also mention that there are some nice party games for consoles these days. I have been to a few events now where the host has fired up a game of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I am excited to play the Burnout Paradise Party Pack. But we will have to wait a couple more months before it is released.

Mines of Kevos

When my brother Kevin and I were in high school he wrote a simple game in Commodore BASIC he called Mines of Minos. In it a miner had to move around mines in order to escape a cave. This past week I wrote a version in Java using the Slick 2D library.

This is a gift for Kevin. You will need a recent version of Java to run it.

Click on an image for a larger version.

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For the Veterans

Today is Veteran's Day. We honor those who served in the military, its auxiliaries and the merchant marines. In my career I have had the privilege to work with many retired veterans. I am humbled by their commitment and inspired by their strength.

Last Tuesday after I cast my ballot I went the local McDonalds restaurant where I met a veteran of the Iraq War. We talked about the election and then about our military. I'll never forget him showing me the proper technique in "clearing a room" right there amongst the chairs. Friend, you made my day. Pity that you helped elect the wrong guy.

Deep and Wide

Congrads to Obama for winning the presidency of the greatest country in the world. I am not angry. I am disappointed. The Republicans decided to confront their competition with a mild tone and the promise of compromise. It brought them defeat.

McCain tried to tie Obama to the liberal Congress' massive mistakes but Obama with assistance from the press was able to spin free of it. "Nope, not me." he said. "Ok!" responded the adoring media who added, "Isn't McCain looking a little old?"

I get the feeling that we have been influenced by reality TV shows like American Idol. On them ambition is prized more than talent. Folks root for a contestant because he is an underdog and he wants it badly rather than considering whether or not he has the skills. Of course there is always a clash of personalities where the competitor is demonized.

Obama is already talking about how his plans will require a second term. Heh, Nobama! I wish this were some made-up game show where an announcer would come on and say, "Got ya! We've been fooling you this whole time. A liberal inexperienced pro-abortion tax raiser would be crazy for our country. The dude is too full of himself and believes his own inaccurate statements. Oh how we duped you!"

So far there have been no cries of red states v. blue states or a deeply divided country or post election trauma. I guess Republicans are better losers. Now in order to turn this country around we have a river to cross. I hope Republicans push the reset button on their leadership and return to conservative principles. The river is deep and wide, friends, but it can be crossed with faith and courage.

My brother sent me a message today that lightened my mood: "Lets move to the 57th state. It's called Husseinia!"

Heroic Adventures

For the first time in over a year I made it out to an Atomic Squash game night at Heroic Adventures. I had fun playing Gloom, Let's Kill (that game has issues), Patrician and Stone Age (my new fave). It was nice to meet new folks and see the regular crew.

I took some pictures. Unfortunately the ISO setting I selected on my digital camera washed out most of the images. Ah well, I uploaded copies of them to my Flickr account.

Click on a picture for a link to a larger version.

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