Having to take my shoes off to go through security, which includes that backscatter X-ray deal. I’m not sure how it can see me naked BUT NOT THROUGH MY SHOES!
Having to take my jacket off. Same thing about the naked X-ray, plus every airport I’ve ever been in has the air conditioning set to Siberia.
Children.
Toddlers.
Babies. Oh man, why do people have to breed at all?
Flight delays.
Chairs that have armrests to prevent a good nap.
I’ve got a new post up on I Heart Chaos about Zeitheist. (Warning: I Heart Chaos is not entirely safe for work. Ahem.)
Zeitheist, which demoed last night at NYGaming at AOL Ventures, is a new web-based Twitter meta-game. The idea of a Twitter-based game may be new, but Zeitheist is a pretty addictive thirty-second challenge, asking players how well they know what’s popular on Twitter right this second.
You’re given a random number of instances, and your goal is to pick 5 words that will appear on Twitter that number of times in the next 30 seconds. Your goal is to get as close to the randomly generated number as possible, so you can’t just toss lol or the into zeitheist for the obvious zillion hits.
Via I Heart Chaos — Zeitheist, The Twitter Trends Meta-Game
via bantrIt was my birthday this weekend, and I was a little bit down about it. As much as I don’t want to fall into the cliches about women and getting older, I still have to admit that turning thirty is a life milestone, and I’m not really where I planned to be at this milestone. Everything’s going the right direction, at least, I’m loving my game job and being in the city and writing, I’ve reconnected with old friends and made some great new ones. But being completely broke, ending a long-term relationship, and moving back to Jersey is just not the story I wanted to be at thirty.
I’ve long thought the Facebook birthday thing was a pointless use of the technology, an add-on that really existed to sell virtual gifts (remember those?) or targeted ads. But when my Facebook wall exploded with greetings for my second adolescence and the beginning of official spinsterhood, I had to reconsider.
Former students from around the world. Guys I dated. Co-writers on projects that rocked. Co-writers on projects that flopped. Expat friends. Ex-boyfriends’ family members. Game journalists. China bloggers. Tech writers. I’m pretty excited to be connected to so many awesome people as I start my next adolescence.
That’s the story I want.
My Mom: Any suggestions for Easter dinner?
Meg: Let’s have turkey and screw with everyone!
My Mom: You’re not helping.
Saw this the other night. It’s actually NOT the first Hello Kitty car I’ve seen!
Harold and I were on the train the other night, talking about the game. It was the usual post-work subway, crowded and loud when we got on, but a lull happened to fall in the car a few minutes in.
“I mean,” I said to Harold, and to the silent subway car, “Once timetravel’s working smoothly, we can move the teleporters without a lot of problems.”
They say people don’t stare at you in New York City, but I happen to know that’s a big lie.
When I was in Austin for SxSW, I got the chance to check outsome amazing indie games at Screenburn, and I wrote up my reaction to Deep Sea, over at Indie Game Mag:
Deep Sea, Robin Arnott’s terrifying sound-based undersea adventure pushes boundaries between game and interactive experience. Sure, there’s combat, a battle between the player and some sort of killer leviathan, but the focus is much more on an experience than a high score.
Deep Sea caught my eye in a sea of stunning indie titles at SxSW’s indiePub pavilion because of all the apparatus. Players wear a modified gas mask, covering the entire head and blocking out all light, and a set of headphones, blocking all the noise from the show floor and playing Arnott’s creepy undersea audio.
Via Deep Sea at SxSW’s Screenburn | The Indie Game Magazine
