- http://bwgame.com

All your villagers are belong to us.

Actually I'm not sure what to think of Black & White. My first impression was that it looks very good and is so clever it's scary, but isn't actually fun. All those people out there with glowing reviews and funny stories must be tied to their computers with the Fluffy Leash of Compassion.

(Amazing... a Google search for "Fluffy Leash of Compassion" comes up with some animal rights sites, a couple of Ultima Online sites and a bunch of sex stories (some of which involve Xena or Scully). No Black & White references.)

Let's see... there's the learning curve. Not steep, but has a sheer dropoff on either side and just keeps going up, and up, and up. There's the camera controls, which aren't quite so bad if you reassign them to the familiar Quake-style WASD, with Q and E for rotation and R and F for tilt, though it would be nice to be able to just slide up/down rather than pitching downward, zooming in, and pitching back up. There's the gesture system for casting miracles, which I find a lot more awkward than necessary -- part of a general design decision that the player must be a skilled and accurate mouse user. In fact, much of the interface suffers because they wanted to avoid familiar icons, menus, etc. And there are some annoying quests where the task to perform seems obvious but is difficult, and the "conscience" characters keep popping in to give you the same advice every 15 seconds.

I chose the Ape as my starting Creature, and he seems to be relatively free of stubbornness and quirky habits. I never tried to potty train him other than making sure he doesn't go on the temple grounds, and he learned that quickly. I let him run around on his own, and he tends to fertilize and water forests, then deliver wood to the village stores by airmail (throwing). During an attack he was all over the place, calling rain down on burning buildings and healing the wounded... in fact he's so helpful that he doesn't want to rest until he's exhausted. But unlike Jeff's leopard, he doesn't lead the villagers off to join in on spontaneous breakdancing sessions.

I haven't found the game to be any more of a moral challenge than, say, The Sims. Usually you have the option of helping people or ignoring them -- black or white, no grey. I want to tell the guys building the ship to go over the hill and fetch their own stinking wood instead of asking their god to do it for them. But I can't... I can either play fetch or I can pick them up and hurl them bodily into the sea for their insolence.

I began a second session with the intention of being as evil as I could, and while it was kind of comical, it wasn't particularly satisfying. One of the many mortals named Actor jeered me as I practiced throwing rocks, so I picked him up and hurled him at the target instead. He smacked it painfully, but came running back to stand in his spot and keep jeering. I threw him into the sea. He began to drown, but stopped at 2% health. I fished him out, set him gently down on the ground, then dropped a tree on him to silence him. He went 'oof', stood up, dusted himself off and went back to mocking me. Hmmph. Shortly afterward, the game crashed (my home machine ain't real stable).

And yet, the game still holds a certain fascination. There are a lot of brilliant touches in there -- anyone who plays it is going to have the "eidle eidle eeee" song stuck in their head forever, and will experience a cold shudder every time a disembodied voice whispers "deaaaaath." (Hopefully that doesn't happen to most people outside the game...)

It's not the be-all end-all of games. It's creative and it's different, but it's not the beginning of a revolution. There's a lot of room for improvement. But I think I'd still recommend it.

I was going to write about other stuff as well, but I can't get moving today. Took a walk this morning to try and help my brain swallow the thing it was chewing on, but all I got for it was sore feet and some some moody thoughts. I already had one and a half naps this afternoon and I'm probably going to turn in early tonight anyway. Ah well.

A camera that doesn't take good closeups, dead batteries that require keeping camera plugged in, insufficiently lit room, and tricky coloration made this shot really difficult. Until Steph suggested I just use her scanner. Voila!

Anyway, there you can see the really fantastic looking beads in my shabu. It would never have occurred to me to wear something like this if not for the religious significance, but I'm glad it's outwardly so sharp looking. :)

Steph, I'm sorry to hear it... I think? I've always stayed neutral on the subject, because you and he were the only people really entitled to an opinion. The only clear thing to me is that no matter what, I don't want my friend to hurt. So, uh, don't. :)

I got linkage. Thanks Sean... though being put side by side with the likes of Shinkansen really makes me feel sort of small and drab. Heh.

Maybe I'll redesign after play.net 2.0 is done. At the moment though, the last thing I want to do after a day of web design is come home and redesign my own site.

In the meantime there's more journals out there to read...

You've heard the phrase "time has not been kind to him," but it usually applies to a longer scale than I'm thinking of. For me, how to make and use time has become a serious issue.

Some combination of the new glasses (smaller lenses and non-tinted so my eyes are getting bombarded by a lot more photons), the new house, and carpooling has messed me up. I'm just not cut out to stay up and do stuff really late at night anymore, and yet I'm not getting up early enough to be productive before work either. I want to do my scribe stuff, play games, write in this journal, read, and do other things in my spare time, and also maximize peak time at work. In the past few months my weekdays have typically been like this:

• 9:30 AM, alarm goes off.
• by 10 AM I'm in the shower.
• 10:30 AM I'm watching TV waiting for the roommates to get up.
• 11 AM I'm usually watching the clock and still waiting on the roommates.
• 11:30 AM I'm at work and doing morning stuff (meetings, email, etc.)
• 1:30 PM I'm thinking about lunch.
• 3 PM I'm hitting my peak.
• 6-7 PM I'm coming back down.
• 8 PM we leave work.
• 9 PM we eat.
• around 11 PM the eyes start going.
• by 1 AM I'm usually reading in bed... maybe falling asleep and drooling on my book.
• by 3 AM I'm definitely asleep.

I want more sleeping time, more time to do my stuff, and more time on full throttle at work. I don't want to be late into the office; that's been bothering me since we started carpooling. I used to get in around 10:30 AM almost every morning, because I'd get ready in plenty of time and I'd drive in as soon as I was ready. I liked it that way really, and if necessary I'll go back to driving myself in. However, the roommates are going to make a renewed, boss-inspired effort to not be late... we'll see how it goes. As for me, I'll try setting the alarm earlier and giving myself more time to spin up to full speed in the mornings.

Sorry for the delay... I meant to update last week before taking off for Chicago, but didn't get the chance. Most of the weird events of the week were already chronicled by the roommates so it would have been redundant anyway. And even now I feel like I have a lot to think about and little to say.

Take the UO2 cancellation for instance. I just don't know what to say. I feel for the people who got caught in the crossfire. I don't have the numbers to know whether it was a sound business decision, though from the outside it doesn't look like one.

And as for how it impacts Simutronics... I just don't know. On the one hand, the greatest potential competition for HJ is no longer a threat. On the other hand, seeing the might Ultima fall is sort of an ill omen for the rest of us. The giant just keeled over, we're the short guy with the rock but we haven't even gotten our shot off yet.

The 5% nation of Hotori
The 5% nation of Suzaku no Miko
The 5% nation of "Rekka Shinen!"
The 5% nation of meat buns

We watched about 24 episodes of Fushigi Yuugi on Friday. 12 hours... though we did break for lunch at a Chinese buffet and my fortune cookie was another message about silence. (Don't let friends impose on you, work calmly and silently.) Typical.

I found the first hour or two the hardest to watch -- although things just kept spiraling downward, it also sucked us into the story. I don't want to give away too much for the sake of those who will also be forced to watch the whole thing. Bwahahahaha.

Saturday was Greek food (flaming goat cheese), a Greek candle shop/botanica (snagging the last Santa Teresa candle), a priest meeting (being given more responsibilities), and then Japanese food (forgetting to order garlic shrimp) to celebrate an anniversary.

Sunday was a 17-person get-together at the OI Museum and a great restaurant called Nile. Heru-em-Peryt and I received our shabu -- bead necklaces in specific colors which act as a constant reminder of our spiritual parents, and more. Wearing it feels like putting on another layer of clothing, like a nice heavy coat in winter, or a uniform, or even armor. Mine came out very nice -- leopard skin jasper and garnets deep and dark as a well. (Okay, a red well...) Big thanks to Kai-Imakhu Nakht for making it.

Also I want to thank Imakhu Ini for the divination, and both her and KI MeryBast for insight and interesting discussions. (I may live with Steph but our best discussions still happen on the drive back from Chicago.) And for caring. I appreciate it more than I can say.

I just did my taxes and for once I'm getting both federal ($300) and state ($20) refunds. Between that unexpected bonus and the bloodsuckers increasing my credit limit, I should be able to pay for some SqueakyCar repairs next month if I choose to.

All three of us are in the market for a new car. Steph wants a Subaru, Jeff wants a Mustang, and I'm thinking small and cute and relatively recent to compensate for the aged and blocky vehicles of my past.

On the other hand, I would almost like to get rid of my car entirely. Our culture puts too much emphasis on cars, and they cost too much and are too big a hassle. On the other other hand, I wouldn't want to nag my reasonably understanding roommates to drive me everywhere, like I'm going to today (I need a Target or Wal-Mart trip). I've never really given serious consideration to a moped or scooter, though 'Ginger' might change that if it's sufficiently cool. :) I've thought about a motorcycle -- I used to have one that I rode off-road -- but it's going to have the same hassles as a car while being less safe and more dependent on good weather...

Anyway. Serious contemplation of vehicular exchange will wait until I get the new job. Bwahaha! Nope, I'm not leaving Simutronics, I'm gearing up to get into 3D graphics programming once play.net 2.0 is done. Whoot!

My cat is so adorably cute. I just wish she wouldn't jump onto the back of my chair while I'm already leaning back. She's gonna kill me one of these days.

With the warmer weather, Poco is getting more active. Every little movement he makes draws the rapt attention of the cats. I hope his little lizard brain isn't bright enough for paranoia. :) I should probably get him a glass tank; considering that he hasn't grown to the magnificent size I was expecting, I could get him a reasonably sized one plus wire mesh lid for around $70-$80 without even shopping around much.

Another Saturday, another D&D session. Right now the part I'm enjoying is the socializing, which ironically is also the part that wears me out. Put me in a room full of noisy people, even if they're all friends, and after a few hours I just want to get away.

To counter this weakness, I have an inexplicable and highly specialized mutant super power: I can fix the left headlight on Jeff's car with a few light taps. It worked last week, and so this week after Jeff couldn't get the thing to turn on himself I stepped out of the car and gave it the magic touch. Heh.

We found that the D&D 3rd Edition Hero Builder's Guide (or whatever it's called) has a really neat section on working up a background for your character. Livia, it turns out, is from a lower class family of war refugees originally from a modest Halfling shire on a cold northern plain. Hmm. This sort of thing doesn't sound terribly exciting at first, but it does make one think about one's character.

The downside is that it's such an open and generic system, it doesn't really tell you much about the world you're living in -- the other major factor in character background. For the most part, a new player in any given RPG world doesn't even know basic geography, recent or ancient history, political situation, etc. -- and probably doesn't want to read 50 pages about it either.

What if the two were integrated? Rather than "your parents were lower class plains dwellers," they were serfs indentured to Lord Krugath, known to dabble in dark magics and rumored to have killed his older brother to get ahead politically. Weather was harsh this season and your family couldn't afford the unusually high taxes leveed to fund Krugath's war efforts. You saw soldiers haul your parents and older brother away while you hid... and so on. If you were to get something like this first thing upon starting a character in, hypothetically speaking, Hero's Journey -- with the chance to tweak some settings yourself and affect your own story -- you would immediately be hooked into the game, right?

So I have this CD which I bought used somewhere. The case says "Praxis · Sacrifist" and has some weird grotesque artwork. The song titles are such things as "Stronghold", "Cold Rolled/Iron Dub" and "Deathstar." It's published by Subharmonic. The CD itself is a plain dull gold color and also claims to be "Praxis · Sacrifist."

But pop it into a player, and it's string/woodwinds ensemble stuff that would fit right in with a black-and-white movie about romance and dancing your cares away and all that.

The effect is strangely creepy, and I had assumed up until a couple of nights ago that it was entirely intentional, a bizarre experiment in context.

And then I thought to look this strange beast up online. Apparently the style is "noise" and one of the reviews/comments is:

Second offering from the almighty Praxis. A sharp stylistic turn for the band. Probably because of the slight change of lineup. Latest addition includes John Zorn (on saxes), Mick Harris (Napalm Death, Painkiller on drums) and Blind Idiot Gods. Expect a hareder edge on noises. Less funky than the first album, but sounding more harsh and abrasive (imagine a cross between a moshier Painkiller and Naked City with more precision). The album`s got Zorn`s signature sound written all over it. Never a dull moment, although the cuts by Bootsy and Bernie (Deathstar and Crossing) drags on a little bit. But generally speaking, a mighty powerful industrial-strength chaos.

That is definitely not what's on my copy. I wonder if it's worth something? :)

Today there. I had decided the Babelfish to have translating this entry item, exactly in Japanese and the back section for kicking...

The Nice setting up and eh? ^_^

" Project IGI: With I am and enjoy, am not disappointed " it has gone, is not. the Darn in any case delegation the scripted! You must do everything in order, the delegation expects; For example you must chop up that in order to complete delegation until you the map and are discovered the fact that went to the other side, as for you it is not possible to chop up a certain computer. It meaning that easy delegation passes at that time suddenly long, the fact that you measure speed is a little strange, the mixture namely difficult delegation excessively. Doing the Rogue has been lacking..., but, as for me desiring " my don't intellectual no French call there infiltration of free form search mode what which is been convinced as for that " the has.got. The value which is played back there the fact that it is many is not done.

(Poor Eddie Izzard. First he like the girl sound profit, now the mangled obtains that line for embezzling with the fish.)

It inhales the car. Insurance inhales maintenance, repair it inhales, tax it inhales, inspection it inhales, it inhales. Here the ginger on the Detroit egg (the scooter which can give hydrogen power) victory is desired.

The time when type is rough in my Dwarven Empath has met. I being independent, train with the brawling, to the control of the Voln-Fu desire the fact that my method can be useed after all. But the brawling weapon which the star of the splendid falchion or morning is compared especially is not effective, therefore selection of my search is rather limited. To mostly non- undead thing. Heh.

As for this one frustration as for me it has possessed the pleasure with this quality as another... as for me with anytime directly for the second time we would not like to enter to the mangler. I am directly even excessively many time level 1 Empath now. ^_^

Us there is a copy which it had with the website concerning the VegasCon here:

"Stuff your sack, your party pants arrive to Las Vegas for the clamp, and the VegasCon! On January 18th - at the time of a certain 21, 2001 years in rear of the player, the conference surface come loosely with sort of the crime city, find those ones which the GameMasters does! As for information and detail of the register concerning the activity where everything is planned it can be found here!"

And there is extract of portion of my thought for traveling the hero here:

Simplicity non- oneself puts together the defense which is thrown or " the massies " it is not, but, as for the player with battle compared to while putting together be active support role, it can take with the other player with defensive maintenance. The Effectiveiness sits down whether nearness namely so the lowest which is brought to the town which is influenced by someone safely the non- existence effect. While maintaining that kind of ones, it joins positively and as for the protection person who obtains the share of experience from the people whom it cannot put together, but protects in battle of the melee. Movement of the Empathic is with the GS3/DR the way progressive, immediately. Process is promoted, to take in simultaneously into the same patient it is possible the many empaths in order to share the profit of experience. This when the " ambush healing " should remove the experience which competition ends.

The Inconceivable? Word means those which you think, I do not think, it means.

New months are a pain 'cause I have to fix about 6 different files for the new archive page... but I'm too stubborn to try Blogger now. Heh.

I've been kind of heavy-hearted the past few days. I think that's because I haven't made tangible progress on getting the big project done. I gathered some detailed info for an artist and I made a few minor edits to a couple of pages, but mostly I've been working on a side project that I hadn't counted on. The big goal for me is to get done with play.net 2.0 and get my butt off the web staff, because that's not what I enjoy doing day-in day-out and because other things await. So I wind up resenting every high-priority side project that comes along and delays that goal.

Honestly though, there is not a lot left on my immediate plate for play.net 2.0. I was planning on reviewing what we have and making notes about broken links, unimplemented pages, art we're still waiting for, etc. The main thing we're missing is functionality and I am not nearly comfortable enough with ASP and whatever else is required to make something like login work. Heh.

I was thinking last night how tired I am of... nearly everything. Hassles. Worrying. Things not done because nobody feels like doing them. Things just not being right when they should. People making little problems into big ones. Feeling like there's not enough time to do everything, but not knowing what to do with my time when I have some.

So this morning I reminded myself of what the whole mess is for. Remembering that helps some. So does remembering why I have stayed with the company through everything.

Here are the 6 mini's I'm painting, in a very crude third-of-the-way-done state with a lot of white primer and (probably pointless) undercoats still showing. I am in no hurry to finish them -- the point is to enjoy painting them and hopefully not suck too much. ;) I'll probably bring them to the D&D session Saturday night to work on them between turns though.

Poor Livia (who was not named after Tony Soprano's mom, I just thought it had the same kind of tone that TSR's Halfling name suggestions had) is going to be the most plain and unattractive of these figures. The best will probably be the Templar and the woman in gold armor on the left (whose sword will not be splashed with that much red!). Wish I could do things like scars and tattoos, but for the moment I'll be lucky to cover up all the primer and stay "in the lines." :)

Bruce, I'm not sure what to do about the date for dave.mooville.net. It's actually accurate for that side of things, it's just that I don't update that side very much. This journal's on a different server entirely. There's probably some clever way that mooville.net can fetch a date from a file on seshat.org but I haven't looked into it.

From the GemStone front... I'm not playing an Empath, I wrote. Heh. Yeah I am. Trying something different this time. Kind of experimental. We'll see what happens.

And finally... the one and only Lobster Magnet.

With only one or two payments left, SqueakyCar is grounded again. The right front brake is locked up, causing the car to pull hard to the right, not to mention the horrible smelling smoke and the potential damage to more expensive things. It might sit in the driveway for a couple months, particularly if Steph gets her car going soon.

So with two cars down, we borrowed Jeff's to head for the Tap Room in downtown St. Louis to meet Peryt and Ikhet-Itw for dinner. It's more of a minibrewery than a microbrewery, since dozens (hundreds?) of local restaurants serve their products. The restaurant had a pretty neat menu, with sort of an English pub theme but plenty of other things to choose from. I went for their Welsh ale just released the day before, and the best stew (sorry, "meat pie") I've had in my life. My only complaint is I wish the place was closer to home so we could go more often. :)

Know what else is good? Brent & Sam's cookies. I'm sitting here eating some key lime/white chocolate oens for breakfast and it's hard to stop. Heh.

Also on the list of good things is Project IGI: I'm Going In. I wasn't sure about this game from the slightly cheesy ads and the goofy title, but I played the demo Friday evening and it rocks. It has the kind of tension that kept me playing Rogue Spear for a year, though the action tends to heat up a little more. One-shot kills tend to be a matter of luck, unless you're sniping... and the sniping experience is the coolest ever. The two things I miss from RS are choosing your own equipment (I'd gladly ditch the Glock for a couple more clips for the MP5) and being able to lean around corners.

I was extra tired yesterday and today doesn't seem much different so far. I spent most of my time lying in bed and reading Hearts in Atlantis. Even for Steven King, it does some odd things... but it's completely fascinating me in a way that no book has for some time.