Work on my own game does continue. I promise. It’s just slow. Recently I swapped the base shader that is applied to most objects in the game. This is the bit of code that tells the computer how to apply color and deals with lights. There are about a million other things it can do, but all I’m using it for is color and lights.

Best Games - Armored Warriors / Powered Gear - Strategic Variant Armor Equipment Capcom may not have invented the beat ‘em up genre, but you could probably argue that they perfected it.

Recently I have been doing a lot of work with shaders. If you are unfamiliar, shaders are little programs that typically run on computer and console graphics processing units. They tell the GPU how to draw pixels to the screen.

So this is week two of using Obsidian to write these posts. It’s just a tool, so using Obsidian hasn’t really changed how I write. I have used a lot of different word processors and WYSIWYG text editors. For a hot minute, I used VS Code to write. I have tried writing with a pen and paper and transferring the words to digital later. I really hated that and it doesn’t really align with the way my brain works.

I’m testing out a new way of writing these post. I’m not sure if it will work for me yet, but I’ve been having problems with the way I have been doing it for the last (checks watch) ten years or so.

Best Games - Final Fantasy It might seem strange to list a game that isn’t even recognized as the best in its series among the best games, but that’s not really what I do here. This isn’t a ranking of games. This is a celebration.

In my quest to eliminate Adobe products from my life, I have started adopting a fully blender texturing workflow. This is probably something that I should have done a while ago, but substance painter works quite well. 

Here is something to know about me. I have almost no interest in gambling. Sure, I get the same thrill as most people when you play a ‘press your luck game’ and it pays off, but going to a casino and plunking down a few bucks gives me no joy.

Best Games - E.T. Phone Home! If you have any interest in the history of video games, or just pop history of the last half century, you know about the E.T. video game. You might have heard that it is terrible. One of the worst games ever made. Well, it isn’t and it wasn’t, but I’m not even writing about that game.

Just like at the end of any writing stint, I have found myself with a lot of words. Some of those words are great. They might be the best words I have ever written. At least they might be when they are arranged in this exact configuration. Move them around a little, and they will be terrible. Or great. I’m not really sure yet.

We’ve been watching the Olympics here for a few days. It’s great. Just wall to wall weird sports. I know, the sports aren’t exactly weird, but they aren’t the ones that you commonly see on tv either. I like to see a bunch of volleyball, or badminton, or BMX racing, or sailing, or judo, or track and field. Pretty much anything but baseball or golf. How much more baseball or golf do we need on tv. Soccer gets a pass because it isn’t on as often in North America… that window is closing though. Your novel sport days are numbered, soccer. Soon, you will be as common as baseball.

I’ve just finished writing the comments for this story contest I’m doing. I said it before, but it bears repeating. Reading, reviewing, and commenting on other people’s stories is so much more difficult than writing an original story. It’s so much more nerve wracking. Like what If I don’t like the story, like, I really think it stinks? (this did not happen to me this time thankfully) What sort of constructive criticism am I supposed to offer in that case? What if I love the story and think it’s perfect? I suppose that is easier, because it’s never hard delivering someone good news. But is it actually helpful to someone if I just praise their writing but really don’t give them any worthwhile feedback?

I’m partway through writing the last story for this story competition that I have been doing. It’s a funny thing, but I have found myself trending slightly darker writing these stories. If I have a particular writing style, it’s probably to be a little tragic and a little hopeful. A little more StarTrek than Black Mirror. Well, not this time I guess.

Best Games - Golly! Ghost! You have played lightgun shooting gallery games before, and you have played ticket redemption games, and you have played pinball games full of electromechanical toys. You just might not have played them all at once.

Writing continues on these short contest stories. Having more time than two days is sort of nice, but it does introduce a small snag. During the ultra fast, two day contests, I don’t have time to write multiple things or change direction if the story isn’t working. I pretty much go with my first instinct and start writing. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn’t, but I don’t really have time to worry about it. I also know that everyone is in the same boat so some minor grammar issues or typos are easy to ignore completely.