The Lost Realm

Recently, the family has (re)discovered KerPlunk. It’s simple enough for Romilly to play, and complex enough that I get to feel as if all the time I spent studying physics at university wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Digging out classic games to play with your children is one of the cool things about being a parent. You get to relive your own childhood, while your children get to play all the older games that actually teach you something useful. Snakes and Ladders teaches taking turns and procedure, Trouble teaches simple strategy, and Monopoly teaches about counting, money and basic math.

Except, of course, that the new version of Monopoly will use Visa debit cards instead of cash. Seriously, people: what were you thinking? Can we stop branding games and adding silly features that destroy the simple games that we all want to play?

Wow… Cellblock Squadrons just beat all the other indie first person space shooters and won Game Tunnel’s 2005 FPSS of the Year!

Good job guys. Now that you’re going to be filthy rich, can you loan your big brother a twenty? Just until the weekend.

Last night I stayed up until 3am to help Kurt finish off an entry for 1W1B2, the competition that gives you one week to write one game that uses only one button. We sort of anti-cheated, and only gave ourselves one day.

So, without further ado, may I present our masterpiece:

Nano Sucker

Update: Now updated to work under Windows XP. Lucky you.

Looking through the online dating sites (lookout people — it’s a lonely single guy!) I have noticed a common demand for “no mind games”. Apparently, some women have a problem with guys who play games that involve thinking. Does this mean no chess? Do they really only like guys that play games that don’t involve their minds?

Alas, I play games. Lots of them. I mean, I’ve always been a fan of RTS and FPS games, but now I’ve moved on to the hard stuff.

Nintendogs.

That’s right, not only have I gone and bought a hand-held console, but I’m playing a game that requires that I pet it, talk to it, blow air at it, and generally make a fool of myself on a regular basis.

But — and here’s the clever part — it really is fun. The Nintendo DS (and the as-yet-to-be-released) Nintendo Revolution are returning much of gaming to its roots. Fun games that allow you to connect with whatever world it is that you’re playing in.

For too long now, game designers have mistaken gloriously rendered 3D graphics for real immersion. You can make a game look and sound and move as realistically as you like, but if you’re stuck behind a tired interface, you’re still poking at a screen with a mouse.

Nintendogs certainly makes the most of the Nintendo DS’ technology. Training your puppy requires you to voice commands, while petting it with the touch screen. You play ball and frisbee with it. You brush it. You shampoo it. You play with a bubble blower that requires you to actually blow at the screen to make the bubbles come out.

It is a very natural way to interact with the game, and it makes it so much more realistic to play. Romilly picked up the interface for playing ball in about 2 seconds, and spent a little while playing ball with my virtual pug, Budd. Later, while we were out shopping, she enquired what Budd might be doing now. Even later, she seemed concerned that he was inside the “little computer” and might want to play again. Romilly was instantly immersed in the game. Budd reacted when she called (screamed at top volume) his name, and obviously enjoyed being petted.

It’s games like this that have recaptured my imagination. They’re not tired reflex tests; they’re actual games. They’re fun.

Before this site turned into my discussions of depression and body functions, it was about interesting things (and, well, bodily functions). In January, I wrote about the game that my brothers released. That post is now the centre of the spam universe. It gets at least two spams per day for online gambling, viagra, and a very strange assortment of drugs. Note that — unfortunately — none of these feature in Cellblock Squadrons.

While discussing the game, however, I should mention that my brothers released a major update patch for Cellblock Squadrons last month. It includes several new features, including new ships to fly, asteroids to dodge, and funky plasma leaks to ogle at.

The upgrade patch is available for free (how do they make any money?) for current owners, and there’s a new demo with three new missions available for download too.

Now I just have to see if I can score myself that free copy.

Why is this site still looking as boring as it did a week ago? I’ll tell you: it’s because I’ve done nothing to it. (That wasn’t so hard now, was it?)

You see, some people don’t know how to relax. I am not one of those people. In fact, I’m often found to be over-relaxing. At 1am.

In short, Half-Life 2 is the best game I’ve ever played, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch and Counter-Strike: Source are far too addictive, and I need to put an alarm clock in here next to my computer so I know when it’s time to go to bed.