7 Stupid Tech Videos
Batman Gets Pwned -- A behind-the-scenes look at the Batcave and playing Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
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Casual Friday
Gadgets, games, and odd uses for humdrum tech
Four Freaky Half-Life 2 Mods
What the heck is a mod? User-created game content--it's been around since long before YouTube ever made do-it-yourself entertainment a household concept. Old-school gaming nerds crafted game levels, weapons, character models--heck, entire games have been built using the guts of game engines for ages. (In fact, I highly recommend that you check out Mod DB for a huge selection of game mods.) That means lots of extra, free games derived from what you've already bought. The mod scene also happens to be a breeding ground for tomorrow's great game designers. To wit, the 2009 Independent Games Festival recently announced the ten student-showcase winners, some of which are based on mods. However, I wanted to showcase a couple of my own picks. I've found some really odd Half-Life 2 mods that, coincidentally, all came from the same academic program: the National Academy of Digital, Interactive Entertainment in Denmark (DADIU, in their native tongue).
Want to play 'em? All you need is Half-Life 2 with Steam, plus the FRAPS video codec to see some of the intro videos (but I don't believe FRAPS is required). Okay, back to my cab ride...and the rest of the weirdness.
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Classic Apple II Games That Inspired Today's Greats
Disclaimer: After hearing about Steve Jobs's taking a medical leave of absence--and after my dealing with some of my own inner demons--I'm waxing a little nostalgic for this week's Casual Friday.
It was my birthday, 1984. I'd spent the better part of a month convincing Dad that a new computer would help me. I'd use it for homework. I'd learn how to program. Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted to play games like my neighbor, like I'd been reading about in gaming magazines.
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What Apple Can Teach Nintendo and Sony
Nintendo, Sony: Let's talk for a sec--just you and me. Look, guys, over the past couple of years, you've had a great run. Nintendo, your DS has tons of games, a wide variety of unique stuff that's a blast to play. Sony, your PSP is a gadget-lover's gaming tool, with everything from Skype to Internet-radio support (oh, yeah, and you have some cool games, as well). But unless you both do something in 2009, the iPhone and iPod Touch will soon become the top dogs in handheld gaming.
Apple, the same folks who have pretty much ignored games since I played Marathon on a Mac, came on strong in 2008--and now Nintendo and Sony must consider the iPhone a legit competitor. The proof: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch games start at a buck (going up as high as $10), and games have flooded Apple's App Store since it opened its digital doors in July.
Nobody at either company has asked, but here's my free advice.
The Greatest iPhone Games of 2008
Though Macworld has nailed down its top ten iPhone games of 2008--only ten?--I just had to provide my own list of titles worth trying out. I mean, heck, I can count more than 25 titles that are better than some Nintendo DS and PSP games that sell for 20 or 30 bucks! Here's what's playing on my iPhone.
Oddball Gaming
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A Downloader's Gift Guide
A PC Mixtape?
You heard me. Maybe I'm dating myself, but back in the day I'd load up olde-tyme magnetic tapes with songs from my collection, samples, and sound bites from the radio; it was a lot of work, but something I put a lot of thought into. Computers killed the art of making mixtapes ages ago--damn you, MP3s!-- but I'm bringing it back to life. (Okay, I'll give Muxtape props for trying.)
Games
Several of my recent favorites:
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A Redneck Rampage
That's how I wound up becoming a videogame bull. Huh? Out of the Chute, branded by Professional Bull Riders, is currently playing on my Wii. Why? Well, when I saw the $20 title on a store shelf, curiosity got the better of me. I mean, how do you make a game like this even remotely fun? Just flip the box over. It reads: "Climb on the back of....blah, blah, blah...yippe ki-yay"--wait a sec--"...Or become 2000 pounds of fury and try to buck off the best riders in the world..." I get to play as a surly side of beef? SOLD!
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The Social Gaming Guide
Let's get one thing straight: Second Life is not a game. Not unless you play games that include thumb twiddling for an afternoon and playing with pixelated paper dolls. To me, it's an aimless MMO. No, I take that back. It's a 3D chat room. The oddest or most boring chat room, depending on where you go. (And Sony wants to emulate this on the PlayStation 3 with its own virtual world, PlayStation Home? Yay.) It has no point, no quests. Then again, I'm a gamer--if I'm socializing with someone, a rocket launcher or sword is usually involved. Okay, okay...maybe a round of virtual Scrabble couldn't hurt. So where can one go to socialize and sneak in a quick game? Let's find out.
Second Life: Getting a Life
InstantAction
I've always classified myself as a hard-core gamer, but I just don't have the time anymore. Do I get demoted or something, like, to casual-core? Naw, I just look for places that can give me some hard-core games without the strings attached. That's what I like about InstantAction. The general idea is that it's a self-contained community consisting of indie games. You make friends, chat with 'em, and play sophisticated 3D games in your Web browser. All it takes is one ActiveX install, and you're good to go. But what stands out here are the quality and sophistication of the titles.
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