Recently in Games Category

With Insecticide hitting shelves the same day that Blood of the Hog premiered at the Art Mission Theater (see previous post), I thought it would be fun to alert our local newspaper of the coincidence, maybe get a few extra attendees at the Conversations events and sell some additional copies of the game (shameless self-promotion to be sure, but it beats wearing a chicken costume and upstaging Spike TV's Game of the Year Awards ceremony).

I emailed my favorite reporter, Elizabeth Cohen, who spent a morning at our house and single-handedly produced a short video piece and a very flattering article about the game and our work which ran on the cover of our local paper's Life section.

Thanks for all your hard Elizabeth, we loved them both!

Work Meets Play (article)
When Work Is Play (video)

Yesterday was a day to celebrate here at Tiny E Ranch, as the DS version of Insecticide hit the store shelves AND the short film I volunteered on last summer had its premier at the Art Mission Theater downtown.

Usually we would have some sort of team party (snacks, drinks, some Quake matches) to celebrate a game's launch, but as we're a 'virtual studio' we had to be happy with a few muffled cheers and exchanged congratulations over our regular bi-weekly Skype conference call. Last week our publisher showed the game at a special event coinciding with the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, and from all reports the response was positive.

After our friendly neighborhood babysitter arrived we headed out to meet some friends at my favorite place to grab a beer, the inaptly-named Cyber Cafe West. It is a cafe, technically on the west side of town, and they probably have wireless internet but that's as "cyber" as it gets: otherwise it's a very comfortable, well-worn and college coffee-shop-feeling place with a huge lineup of excellent beers (including Lagunitas!!) on tap.

After sharing some nachos, beer and a lively debate about alternative medicine (thanks for being a sport Dave!!) we made the trek over to the theater to find it already packed. So much so that the theater had to be emptied and refilled twice for a total of three screenings just so everyone could see it. Hopefully that is a trend for future 'Conversations' events, since in the past we've been lucky to fill a row much less the entire theater!

The folks over at DS Fanboy have given a very positive "feelers-on" preview of Insecticide:

"..it's clear to me that this is exactly what people hope it is: the return of the funny 3D adventure game."

"I can't say enough about how right this adventuring felt. It's not even nostalgia for an old game type. It's just a new, good game in a favorite genre."

DS Fanboy feelers-on: Insecticide

A big "whoop!" to the comic talents of our friends Larry & Mike!

I've been meaning to post more games-related content, so here's a start:

CNET: The ten most addictive online flash games

I've played a few of these and agree they're pretty fun (plus there's a sasquatch!) Brandie can speak to the addictive nature of Bejeweled, although she seems to have kicked that in favor of Zuma (which she still plays every now and again).

By the way, we hooked up our Wii last night, bowled a few games and hit a few rounds of golf! All in the comfort of our own basement. Brandie's Mii is hilarious, looks just like her. The options didn't include the exact receding hairline required so mine looks a little off.

Our friends over at local game developer Blitwise have released an update to their latest game, Super DX-Ball!

Hope you can find a few minutes to try it out, and enjoy all their hard work.

Go Blitwise!!

The teaser trailer for Insecticide (the game we've been working on with some ex-LEC friends) is now up at Game Trailers:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/20953.html

Enjoy!

Another round of congratulations are in order for the folks over at Idea Duck - Qwirkle has won three more awards!

In April, Qwirkle won a Mensa Select Award. This award means that members of Mensa have chosen Qwirkle as one of the top 5 new games of the year. In May, Qwirkle received a Parents' Choice Gold Award. This award is given to products that are judged to be the highest quality and most appealing products in their genre. Also in May Qwirkle won a Major Fun Award. As far as we can tell, this award goes to "games that make you laugh".

Actually, we're not surprised at all - being not only majorly fun parents but also Mensa members ourselves, we saw this coming a mile away ;)

Congratulations to our friends over at Idea Duck, as Susan's new boardgame Qwirkle caused a sensation at this year's Toy Fair!

Chris & Susan kindly included us in their post-Toy Fair tour, and so became the first visitors to our new (albeit temporary) home. It was very fun to see our California friends again, to share some meals and laugh, and to witness all the excitement around Qwirkle first-hand!*

* It's true, I beat the maker of Qwirkle at her own game. Next up, Reiner Knizia!

Our friend and local game developer Blitwise has released a new game called Neon Wars. Be sure to check it out!

So I admittedly play this game far more than I should. I've been playing it for over a year now and still can't finish the last level but I keep coming back, night after night. "Just one more game." I tell myself. That usually turns in to at least three more games. (No wonder I have such a hard time dieting.)

Anyhow, my intent here isn't to talk about how addicted I am to this game but to talk about how different level layouts cause me to think of different people/events in my life. I think the stamping came from the first time I played through that level and what was going on in my life at the time. There's the level that makes me think of my friend Chris and his breakup with long time girlfriend Beth. The level that reminds me of my ex-step father and his hip replacement. The level that reminds me of rapping 'It Takes Two' with my friend Matt. The level that reminds me of my sister in law. I sink back into these memories each time that level shows up. I keep expecting the memories to be replaced by a more recent memory but it never happens.

It's actually been kind of nice sinking into these memories since we have been in New York. It reminds me of our friends and our old house. Digital nostalgia I guess.