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Teaching Machines Presentation - Future of Games, Learning and Communication

The following video is the presentation I have been giving in various forms since Feb of this year. Feedback and comments are welcome but please post them here on this site (see link below) and not on the video hosting site.

Enjoy (or not! let me know :) )

Left4Dead - Ardor3D "Hobby Project"

My good friend Josh Slack over at Ardor3D has been working on a little project in his spare time to show off the features and performance of his Ardor3D engine. In a video series called "Ardor3D - L4D 'hobby project'", Josh starts detailing the process of importing Left4Dead maps into the Ardor3D engine. Josh has an excellent speaking manner that helps to simplify the explanation and is presented in a very straightforward way.

Check out Episode 2 here:


Now, I would be remiss if I did not also point out that the Ardor3D engine is a JAVA engine. Java and performance? Yep. Again.

Of Invaders and Space...and Infinity

Ok. Fine. I have not been a huge fan of the iPhone as a game device. Sure, I have purchased a bunch of games on friend's recommendations and most were pretty good to ugghhh. I always thought of the tilt controls as awkward for the moving mechanic. I mean, could you imaging your television screen rotating with the action while you remained stationary? Always felt weird.

However, I think I have found the perfect game for the iPhone and it is absolutely incredible. Space Invaders Infinity Gene takes the old SI formula, adds new enemies, a slick coat of Rez like sheen and a fantastic soundtrack to create a wholly new experience that is still familiar. AND, thankfully, a control system that is absolutely perfect for this kind of game. No tilt controls here.



I thought the remake of SI in Space Invaders Extreme on DS/PSP was the best it could get. Not even close!

The main branching system of the game is deep and offers a lot of gameplay for the dollar. You can also use your own iTunes library of music and the game creates levels based on the music you choose that mirror the pace of your selections. How boss is that?!?!

For $4.99, it is the best entertainment investment, so far, for your iPhone. Recommended without hesitation.

Greatest Thank You Card Ever!

This post has been a while in the making, but I finally got around to finishing and getting some photos posted. Now, the story.

JavaOne 2009 was held the first week in June and my good friend Josh Slack was able to make it out to the conference after a bit of back and forth. Rather than incur the expense of the hotels in SF, Josh just crashed at my hotel and we had a great time at the conference and hanging out.

About 2 weeks after the conference, I received a package in the mail. When I opened it, imagine my surprise. Here is what I was greeted with:


Neat little cardboard box with Link entering from the side. Intriguing....

When I opened the box, there was the most amazing card enclosed:


And out of the wrapper:


A completely handmade card with some of the coolest composition of classic game characters. AWESOME! Now, peep the inside:


Again, AWESEOME! The detail and time that went into making this card was fantastic. It's one thing to receive a note, e-mail or Hallmark card that anyone can buy, but this was a crafted card just for me. So, where does such a ting come from?

Well, it turns out that Josh's wife Jeni makes custom ordered and handmade cards. If you really want to send out something special, check out her work at Jeni's Cards. I gaurantee that the receipient of one of her cards will be just as blown away as I was when receiving mine.

Thanks again Josh and Jeni for the amazingly thoughtful card. It's a keeper!

Tron Legacy (2010)

Umm....what else can I say? It's Tron. It's coming in 2010. Time can not move fast enough.

Electric Playground Holiday Card - 100th Episode

Back around 2002/3, Victor Lucas sent out holiday cards to his industry friends in the form of a DVD. This DVD contained about 90 minutes of footage from his TV show, Electric Playground. One of the best videogame shows ever on television.

First rising to popularity in the US on G4TV when it was a 24 hour video game channel, EP was hosted by Tommy Tallarico and Vic. What made their show different from any other show is that they employed real scripts and funny bits into the review segments. This gave the show a flavor that has not been matched by any other video game show, IMO.

I asked Vic if I could put some of the clips up on YouTube to share, he said go for it, and here are a few choice bits from that awesome holiday card.



You can check out more videos and regular game news at http://www.elecplay.com

Break from Chrono Trigger to post...

So, one of the interesting side effects of having a portable game machine with a full browser built in is the costant balance between the need to game and the need to be on the web. Of course, blogging from my DSi :)

Ok, back to CT. It seriously rocks!

Protect The Children!!! From Chuck E. Cheese games?

By way of my friends over at GamePolitics.com comes this lovely article about the town supervisors in Amherst, New York who failed to approve the game room license for a local Chuck E Cheese establishment. Guess why. COME on....take a wild guess...

Council Member Shelly Schratz said she was disturbed by several “action-packed shoot-and-kill games” that were accessible to children as young as 4.

“When I see 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds playing those games, when all the time we’re opening the paper and seeing those stories on youth violence, do we need those games to make money?” she said.

Really? Seriously Shelly?

I'm more concerned about the parents who take their kids there and let them run around fighting, pushing and swearing in the tube slides while the parents sit in the corner stuffing their faces. Instead of stopping Mr. Cheese from running a business, perhaps you can issue some fines for stupid parenting.

Full story here: Buffalo News

Retro Gamer Magazine - One of the Finest

While there has been a lot of discussion recently regarding the rise in value of print materials. Understanding that we may have written them off way too soon and, I would imagine, many people don't want to take their $400 Kindles or $500 iPhones into the john with them just to have an invisible layer of ABFM (Airborne Fecal Matter...eeewww) on their digital conduits, there are several efforts to resurrect some magazines that have gone under in recent times.

There have been other mags that had a rocky road but finally established itself and is, in my opinion, one of the finest print publications on the market in regard to the video games industry. Retro Gamer magazine, published by Imagine Publishing Ltd. in the UK, is an extraordinary piece of monthly video gaming material. Check out the look!


Retro Gamer is, quite obviously, focused on retro video games and is packed with interviews with some of the top people that created this industry. As usual with UK published mags, the publication is oversized, printed on heavy glossy stock, and is meant for collecting, not reading and discarding.

Aside from the focus on casual games, there is a tons on info on independent gaming, classic remakes, system purchasing guides, etc. Being a UK publication, it is rather pricey at $11.99 on store shelves from Barnes and Nobel and Borders. But you can find a shit-ton of wedding and home magazines for the same price in the same racks and who the hell wants those? For $12 a month, it is well worth the price of admission.

Right now, Imagine Shop is also selling the Retro Gamer DVD (2nd disk) that contains 25 digital versions of the magazine. Snap it up.

And, for the record, Retro Gamer never enters my bathroom. Leave that for US Magazine.

AVGN - Transformers

I know it's not the latest of the Nerd's videos, but fantastic as always. Also, can't believe the cassette tape for the C64 still works!

Video Games | ScrewAttack | Angry Video Game Nerd: Transformers

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

About Damn Time! - Secret of Monkey Island on iPhone

For those of us who grew up in the real dawn of computer games, the mid-80's to mid-90's was one of the most magical periods EVER in the video game industry thus far. During that period, LucasArts published some of the best adventure games, well, ever. Chief among them were the Monkey Island series.

Well, you can now download this classic remake for the iPhone. Cool thing is that you can switch between the new artwork and the original on the fly. Damn, damn, DAMN! Stop what you are doing and buy this now.

What's going on here?

So, I'm starting this blog space back up as a place for me to discuss my personal views on technology, the games industry and so on. Corporate blogs are fine, but I find myself having to be very careful and particular with regard to what I write about and choose to discuss. I think having my own chunk of the web, here, will allow me to vent a whole hell of a lot and can share my reall thoughts on a variety of subjects.

As for site design, I am currently playing around with it and having fun. I love the Tron/CRT glow aesthetic and will continue to mess about with it. So there you go.

Twitter feeds, YouTube uploads, favorite links; all here on this spot.

Back shortly!

Personal blog reboot....

After, well, 2+ years of neglect, I am going to be restarting this blog space. More to come soon!