I can’t stop playing Silicon Sisters’ new game “Everlove”, and the dialogue is probably the main reason.
Everlove Dialogue
Posted in New York City
Tagged everlove, everlove:Rose, flavortext, game text, game writing, New York City, silicon sisters
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Lucha Tigre
Lucha Tigre is a new Latin / Asian fusion eatery on Chapel Hill’s Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard*, tucked into the Foster’s/Flyleaf stripmall. (Well, I’m saying it’s new, because whenever I mention it, I’m told that it used to be the Flying Burrito, but honestly every restaurant here is new to me.) Inside, the place is styled with modern red, white and black paintings, and lit with those wonderful hipster essentials, paper lanterns and strings of Christmas tree lights.
The menu creatively blends Asian and Latin staples, for tasty tapas like Thai Chicken Empanadas. Several vegetarian options, too, although so far Chapel Hill and Carrboro have been pretty good about offering vegetarian options besides a token salad. Tapas are stylishly plated, and it’s pretty much impossible not to share them, another reason Lucha Tigre is a sweet date spot.
Brunch offerings vary, but have included a pork belly biscuit for Southern-Asian flair and huevos rancheros. And the brunch menu always includes mimosas and bloody Marys my hipster brunch essentials. Perfect for a late-morning catchup with friends. They have recently raised the price of the all-you-can-drink mimosas which is probably not because last time Alicia and I drank their profit margin. It is probably just a coincidence.
There’s a pretty impressive bar, with a collection of sake and tequila — what else would you expect in Asian/Latin fusion spot? Cocktails might be a little steeper than the student pubs of Chapel Hill, but inexpensive for Brooklyn transplants. (I keep getting $4 cocktails, expecting mixer with a hint of booze, and then when I take a sip, I remember that I am not in New York City anymore. In other news, I don’t hate everything in North Carolina.). PBR and unusual drink specials complete the hipster vibe, and it’s almost jarring to step out into a sprawling parking lot instead of running for the G train home.
* MLK Boulevard is not to be confused with Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, or MLK Parkway. Those do not go anywhere near Lucha Tigre. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is the one that is also called Airport Road, and Route 86, because road naming in North Carolina is payback for Reconstruction.
Posted in Brooklyn, Chapel Hill
Tagged Brooklyn, Brooklyn:Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, G Train, lucha tigre
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‘It’s Just A Game’ Zine
It’s Just A Game arrived today! I’m very pleased to be part of this collection. Probably the best part was going through the links in the bios and discovering the other contributors’ game and writing projects.
Edited: The first print run has completely sold out! The e-version is available here. though.
Posted in Books, Chapel Hill, Gaming Culture, My Other Writing
Tagged 18 to 35, Books, Chapel Hill, It's just a game, my other writing, zines
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SPX
This weekend, Harold and I went to Small Press Expo in DC.
Since I began spending time with Harold, I’ve realized that I am not really a comics fan, as much as I’m a person who enjoys good stories, and often finds stories to enjoy in a graphic format. Being a serious comics fan seems to involve inside baseball on writers and artists and publishers, and who started a fight with who on Twitter. Being more of a reader means liking the characters and stories, and having a nice time at comics events with Harold, without really knowing any references to other works or knowing what’s trending.
High Score: A Microcomic Anthology on Videogame History was not a new release or a featured title in anyway. It’s actually a Kickstarter companion for High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. But, with a ministory about a landfill full of copies of the ’82 E.T. game, and plenty of game dev jokes, the High Score comic might have been my favorite find at SPX.
Harold and I got separated in the crowd, and both bought copies of Space Pyrates, before we found each other again. Sweet! Romantic! Not very efficient!
Good thing I am just a casual reader, I couldn’t carry all my books home if I were a serious fan.
See that Cute Girl Network paperback? I wrote more about it over on Nerdy But Flirty!
Posted in Books, Washington DC
Tagged Books, Electronic Games, feminism, games, Harold, Harry Potter
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Future Tech 1
My new colleague and I were at work, looking through his Make magazine and talking about awesome MakerFaire printouts, when I noticed that a small section of a page had been clipped out. My colleague told me he’d snipped out the bikini girl because he wanted to share the magazine with his preteen son.
I thought for a second that he was putting me on — I’ve only been working here for a few months, and I don’t think I’ve (yet) complained about using over-sexualized female bodies to sell technology, but on the other hand, my feelings are pretty easily googled. But before I could ask, my colleague explained why he thought pictures of boobs are a poor choice to sell technology.
In North Carolina, I sometimes feel like I’m surrounded by perfectly nice people, with their strange and inexplicable customs of smalltalk and driving. Other times I miss Brooklyn like a breakup. It’s quite rare and really good to feel like I’m around my people.
The Returned
I want to tell you more about this book, so you’ll know it’s not zombies and you’ll want to read it, but I also don’t want to give a lot of it away. The story is not so much plot-driven as an unfolding new world, made up of small and large narratives about what happens when the dead return. The largest storyline features a cranky old Southerner called Harold, whose eight-year-old son drowned decades ago, but returns, asking for peaches and telling elementary school jokes. (At the signing, my Harold talked to the author about how Harold is such an old man’s name, of course.)
The best part is that no story arc is purely good or purely bad. When a young boy returns to his parents, they’re delighted to have another chance at being a family and seeing their beloved lost son, but it also highlights how aged and aging the parents have become in the years since their son died. When a young woman sees her fiance return, her hard won closure and her affection for him battle. There are also three e-prequels set in the world of The Returned, with more of the connected and self-contained stories.
The real sadness in the book comes as more and more of the returned appear, and what was miraculous becomes a logistics problem of new arrivals appearing in random places. Some may need to get back to their families and some may not have any families, any money or any homes. Mott’s first two books are poetry, as every line of The Returned shows, and this is a sad and beautiful imagining.
Posted in Books, Chapel Hill
Tagged Books, Chapel Hill, Flyleaf, Harold, Jason Mott, reading, The Returned
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Flavortext Emergency!
My boss: Meg, can you come in here? We need a game writer right away!
Meg: I think I’ve been waiting years for someone to say that.
Dim Sum House
The other day, Harold and I got talking about how great dim sum is, and when I sighed about how we just couldn’t squeeze Chinatown into our last New York trip, we turned to the internet to find North Carolina dim sum. And the Snavelys were totally up for an impromptu food adventure. Most of my foodie friends are eating at Do or Dine in Bed-Stuy, and it was great to be able to call up Chapel Hill friends and see if they felt like driving a few towns over to try a dim sum place I read about on the internet.
Dim Sum House, in Morrisville, has an underwhelming location in a stripmall near the airport, but while it’s typically North Carolina on the outside, the inside is definitely Chinese.
Waitresses bring carts of plates and steam baskets so diners can choose whatever appeals to them. There’s also an extensive picture menu that we barely even noticed because so many tasty things were passing by. Staff was pretty great about introducing the dishes, too, which is not always the case at dim sum.
It’s more Cantonese dim sum, which is delicious, although not quite the Shandong flavors I sometimes miss. I kept looking for xiao long bao, which led me to 3 or 4 other dumplings that were delicious but not exactly xiao long bao. (Dumplings are the best kind of failure!) Really nice sesame balls too, and lots of good things.
We just kept ordering food from the carts, figuring dim sum is a rare treat, and also wanting to try all the tastes. When the bill came, I was stunned that four people ate their fill, plus we left a massive tip (all four of us are current or former waitstaff), and it was still really inexpensive.
The only downside was that it was quite busy in the early Sunday afternoon, and so we weren’t able to linger because there was a shortage of tables. Maybe next time we’ll have more time for tea and chatting with friends.
Posted in North Carolina
Tagged Chapel Hill, China::North Carolina, dim sum, Harold, North Carolina, SCVNGR, urbanspoon
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Notch’s Surprising New Projects – Youth Digital
Part of my new job involves tech and games blogging for kids eight and up. Here’s my first piece, it was difficult for me to take out the industry snarking, but I think the result is child-friendly without being condescending.
Following the amazing success of the independent game Minecraft, developer Markus Persson — known as Notch to Minecraft fans — began working on a new massive game, this time set in outer space. We love Minecraft at Youth Digital, and we’re not alone, over a million players battle creepers and mine for diamonds!
Notch’s new project, 0x10C, is a sci-fi game, set in outer space in the very distant future. Just like Minecraft, this new game will allow players to interact with absolutely everything in the gameworld. 0x10C players will be able to build their own equipment, program their computers, gain and trade resources, compete or cooperate with other players, and travel the galaxy.
Posted in Chapel Hill, My Other Writing
Tagged Chapel Hill, games, minecraft, my other writing, notch, sci-fi, travel, youth digital
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Sky Horse Interactive in IGM
Indie Games Mag’s newest issue is out, including my interview with Dave Stafford from Sky Horse Interactive. This is issue 34, which kind of blows my mind, because my first piece for IGM was in issue 3.
Posted in Chapel Hill, Game Reviews
Tagged Chapel Hill, Game Reviews, games, Indie Game Mag
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