There’s a lull in another conversation, at which point we totally get caught talking about teen vampire romance.

“Twilight! Seriously, ladies? But are you Team Jacob or Team Edward?” we’re asked.

“Team Bella’s Dad?” I suggest.

“That’s who you think she should end up with?”

“Oh, is that what the teams are? I thought we were voting for most believable character.”

“I thought it was who would win in a fight,” my new friend says.

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Squad Eli

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As seen in Chapel Hill.

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Apathetic Protest

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Anyway! Last spring, I helped out with Passionfruit Games’ first title Tiger Eye. The game was originally released as a downloadable game in May 2010, but it’s now available as a hard copy, with a box and disc and all that. I haven’t seen it in a store yet (see previous re: monkeys), but I’m sure there’s an another  in-aisle happy dance in my immediate future. 

From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:

Monkeys and Tigers

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When I went to E3, I found out that my hotel’s promised internet was actually spotty wifi, available only in the lobby. I thought the Happiness Hotel was charming in other ways, but I need real internet, so before I booked my Vegas trip, I called hotels on the Strip to make sure that internet means in-room wifi.

It’s just possible that Vegas may be wasted on me.

From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:

Wasted.

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Saturday night was Brenda Brathwaite’s tearjerking discussion of her new project, One Falls For Each Of Us. This is a game, well, I don’t think game is the word I want, but an interactive experience based on the Trail of Tears. (I talked about Brathwaite’s Train on ThumbGods a while back, a similar one-of-a-kind game/experience based on the Holocaust.) She talked about her inspirations for One Falls For Each of Us, and showed slides of her pieces in progress, 50,000 (not hyperbole) meeples stained brown. As a teacher, I was focused on the themes of games as interactive experiences for education and the failures of the average history class to bring home the emotional truth of historical events.

Leaving the talk, some of the Zombies saw Humans and started chasing them to eat their brains.

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One Falls For Each Of Us

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CotV asks players a lot of questions about their goals for their, uh, un-life. Do you want to create lasting art, find true love, rise to the top of the vampire society or accumulate power? This helped me feel like my character had actual motivation, but I was frustrated by the lack of progress towards my stated goal. Choice of the Vampire is the first of several planned installments, so hopefully I’ll get another chance at rocking the undead art world.

I couldn’t quite work it into the post, but it’s worth mentioning that the CotV story includes the botched Jackson assassination, one of my favorite bizarre history moments.

Via Choice of The Vampire | Review (PC and Mobile)

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Pretending To Be A Vampire

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First and foremost, what would you say if I told you that 60% of women that play games don’t actually consider themselves gamers?

What would I say? Oh, I’d just be preparing myself for another one of these ZOMG! Girls play social games! conclusions. Of course people who play the odd Facebook game (ZOMG! Girls playing games! All game players aren’t antisocial teenage boys!) don’t call themselves gamers, kind of like the way people who enjoy fixing an occasional grilled cheese don’t call themselves gourmet chefs. Especially if “gourmet chef” was usually associated with angry, unshowered teenage boys.

(Yeah. Casual games are grilled cheese. Not my best metaphor ever.)

Via Girls Got Game! A Look at Gender & Gaming | Frisky Mongoose

From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:

New Study: Still Shocked By Girls Playing Games

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The new Friendship’s Bloom tree in My Tribe is a cooperative mystery. First, a friend needs to fertilize the tree. Even if you have lots of friends, this can only be done once per tree, per day. Each time the tree is tended by a friend, it grows pretty new leaves.

Once it’s been fertilized by a friend, the island owner needs to send a tribesperson with at least a 3 in Agriculture over to the tree.

The next day, a friend needs to fertilize it again. It can be the same person, or a different person. Then a tribesperson with at least 6 in agriculture needs to visit the tree. Lather. Rinse. Repeat with visiting friends and agriculture increments of three. Finally, a tribesperson with a 30 or higher in agriculture can tend the tree and unlock the mystery.

Once you solve the Friendship’s Bloom, you’ll receive 3 fertilizers per neighbor, instead of the usual one. (Hey, I just thought of this — if you’ve already solved the tree and you’re helping a friend by fertilizing, can you give it three?)

Look, I enjoy MyTribe, but this is one of those zany cycles that sour me on social games. My Facebook friends are awesome, so my feed isn’t full of COME HELP ME! Fertilize my pretend tree! But I like MyTribe just a little less for encouraging that kind of spam.

From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:

Friendship’s Bloom

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The royal court bears striking resemblances to Henry VIII and Catharine of Aragon: The king and his politically-advantageous wife have one sickly child, while the king’s wandering eye has led to an illegitimate son. One time I played through, I went after the king, and was soon receiving gifts, stringing the king alone and deposing the rightful queen, just like a magic-using Anne Boleyn. I don’t know if this was the intention, or if maybe I should lay off the historical novels for a while.

I’ve written before about how pleased I am when a character-driven game gives equal female options instead of forcing you to play a guy. (I’m looking at you, Harvest Moon.)  In Choice of Romance, you can choose your gender, and the gender of your intended romantic partner. I really liked that sexual orientation was just a quick change of pronouns, but every time I played, my character was a girl who was interested in boys. (I’m boring.)

Choice of Romance was very open-ended, and while I felt that my actions had consequences, I didn’t feel like the game was out to trick me or punish me for a wrong choice. You’re able to pursue the king, a wealthy older lord, and a young rebel, and dive into politics, make subtle changes or steer clear of the whole thing, for several satisfying endings.

The only flaw was my usual ChoiceScript problem, the lack of a midgame save. If I see two options I want to try, it’s frustrating to restart and try to remember everything I did to get to that point so I can try the second one.

In conclusion: Text-based game.  Henry VIII. Flirting. Plus magic!

From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:

Choice of Romance

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I like the simple black-on-white style, which makes it easier to read posts from bloggers who don’t always agree with me on colored text, popups and automatic music. It also makes it easier to read blogs while slacking at work, um, not that I ever do that, I’m a model employee and you should totally hire me. (Don’t look so shocked. I have more than twice the hits on weekdays that I do on weekends. You’re all reading this at work, too.)

It’s the end of an era for me. I guess I’ll try out this new-fangled Google reader contraption all the kinds are talking about.

From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:

Bye Bloglines

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