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Internal Injustice

Recently, a game called Highguard came out to...less than stellar reviews. The game is a hero shooter where you pick a character and use their abilities to fight other players on the battlefield. When it was announced, it came at the tailend of the Game Awards which is a spot usually reserved for the best of the best. Highguard was not that type of game. The market is flooded with live service games many of which are hero shooters. So this game had little to no chance of lasting too long in this crowded market. It was also compared to a previous live service game called Concord which was a four hundred million dollar flop. All this attention was given to Highguard and what do they do? They go radio silent online. And for good reason, the gaming world can be cruel to game designers. One developer in particular, named Josh, was singled out on Twitter for being autistic. For his own sanity he blocked everyone who was posting threats and comparing his work to the Concord flop. When Highgua...
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An Old Idea: Blue Hood and Gray Hood

I'll be upfront and tell you that I never got far with these ideas. These were entertainment I created while listening to Spanish class which might explain the mediocre grades I received. The first character was a faceless man I called Blue Hood. I can't remember what I was watching or reading at that time so I can't trace the source. Hidden behind a blue hood was a man who used weapons for...something. The plot's details have long been lost in the dust in my brain's file cabinets. I still have the old drawings of the character but all I drew was his hood and mentioned that he was muscular. Muscular and overbuilt like one of those professional body builders set to the extreme. It's strange where my mind goes when it wanders off into unknown lands. I can't even remember what his purpose was supposed to be or why he fought. That was one of those things that never came up in my imagination. It's probably why I thought it would be a good idea to let others w...
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An Old Idea: Darrk and Recourse

Back when I was in high school, I had this idea for a game I called Darrk and Recouse. It was based on the games I was currently playing which were the Jak and Daxter series and Ratchet and Clank. Both featured a team up of protagonists with one doing more work than the other. Jak and Daxter was about a elf-like boy named Jak who went on adventures with Daxter, an "ottsel" which was a mix between a weasel and otter with red fur, who sat on Jak's shoulder. Ratchet and Clank was about a long-eared furry alien "lombax" named Ratchet who had Clank on his back and used him like a tool. Both games let you play each hero in different capacities. Daxter played like a mini version of Jak with the same moveset which made his short levels seem more like a gimmick than an actual stage. Clank sat on Ratchet's back and served as a hovering device after Ratchet jumped. Clank could also solve puzzles solo and could grow to a tremendous size eighteen times larger than his sm...
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Yesterday's Games

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house and brought my gaming PC. We played this game called Chicken Horse where you jump on platforms that you make as the game hands you different items and traps to use. The game's fun with three players, but it's even better with four. I've never heard us all laugh so hard before which was a lot of fun. The last time I think we laughed this hard was when one of us was playing one of the Alone in the Dark games. There's a scene in that "horror" game where the player character says to a woman "I thought you were dead." She responds "So did I." I don't know why but that got us all busting out laughing. But that was a long time ago. I don't have those friends from back then, they don't contact me anymore since we all broke up. It's sad but that kind of thing happens from time to time. So yesterday was a bittersweet day since it reminded me of those good times. My other friend who's w...
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Worshippers of Cthulhu and Morimens thoughts

In the past week I restarted my efforts to work on the KIY series by reintroducing myself to the themes and stories of Lovecraft. Two games popped up on my radar, Worshippers of Cthulhu and Morimens. Worshippers is the definition of a classic colony game. You're given an island frought with eldritch connections and an abundance of mist and are tasked to lead a group of cultists to build a town befitting of their god. You manage food production, worship ceremonies and mark your cultist's backs with markings like a bloody etch a sketch. I don't know why the game has such poor reviews on Steam. It doesn't do anything particularly bad but it doesn't do anything new either. Take away the haunting atmosphere and the rituals and you'd have a normal colony sim. There's nothing new in terms of expanding the lore of Lovecraft. The game follows the strictest paths towards Eldritch horrors with a lead towards darker aspects. As in similar games you're given tasks to...
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A snow day

Yesterday was interesting. The local snow plower came over and with him was a bulldozer with a scoop on it. One of those smaller ones to scrape up the snow the plow left behind. I should have waited for them because yesterday I parked my car in a clear area. I woke up yesterday to see that it was blocked by piles of snow. I did the most illogical thing I could think of, try to gun it out of there. I started the car and vroomed my way into the pile with my wheels caught on either side. I had hoped that by leaving the car on, the center would melt some of the snow. That didn't happen. Instead, it made it more slush. I needed a shovel so I went to the landlord's place but lo and behold, a small shovel fell off a car as it passed me. It was cut in half so that the crappy plastic shovel was short enough that you had to bend down to dig. Like a gift from God I thought. It wasn't though, more like a joke from the devil. I tried digging myself out and called my folks who also tried...
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A day without meds

Yesterday, due to weather and Walgreens being unable to fulfill my medical request, I went off the pill. For the whole day. It wasn't fun I'll tell you that much. The fact is, I feel like I have a purpose when I take those meds. Even if I'm not doing anything but playing games I feel elated. Now, going through the whole day with the pill bottle staring at you is no fun. So my dad decided to take me out to get some pants. I need the kind that are nice enough to lounge in but stronger than your average jammies. Also, they needed pockets. But the trip to Kohl's was a fruitful experience. I got three pairs of pants that are sure to be useful duing the next few days during the cold season. I feel like I'm channeling too much Homestar Runner in my speech today. It doesn't matter, this is good practice. Out of the fifteen or so pairs of pants I tried on, only three made the cut. After that we tried for Walgreens the second time but they didn't know anything about m...
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