Battlestar Galactica play recap

Here's how it goes down. I was playing Bill Adama. Streetz played Gaius Baltar. Jessica played Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Nathan played Chief Galen Tyrol. Scott played Saul Tigh. Alex played Lee "Apollo" Adama. So I started out as the Admiral and Gaius was the president.

When we started there was a basestar and some raiders. Starbuck and Apollo were flying out on vipers, protecting cilivian ships and shooting down the toasters. Tigh ordered our guns to attack as well. With the first crisis we discovered that there was a cylon in our midsts, and I knew it was either Gaius, Chief, or Apollo. We cleaned out most of the raiders just in time for another basestar and more raiders to show up. Galactica took two big hits before we were able to jump away (leaving a ship behind) to safety on a barren planet.

While there we repaired the ship, and dealt with food and water shortages. We also attempted a rescue mission as well. We were able to jump once again with too much trouble, but our fuel levels were now in the red.

Once we reached our new destination, empty space, Starbuck was thrown in the brig for being a cylon sympathizer. She learned her lesson, so her release was ordered. She had planned on fingering Chief as a cylon, but he revealed himself as cylon before and threw back in the brig before being sent to the resurrection ship. Soon after a basestar appeared and launched raiders and heavy raiders at us. We were able to protect the civilian ships but galactica was boarded because of it. In the scuffle, Tigh was accused of being a traitor and thrown in the brig. We finally were able to jump early out of the fight, avoiding some incoming nukes but still leaving some ships behind, and ended up in an asteriod field.

We had traveled a total distance of 7, (needing 8 to get to Kobol), but the recent appearance in an asteriod field cost us a fuel refinery ship and fuel levels were dangerously low, as well morale. Food and water were now in the red as well and we were faced with some tough decisions. Peaced was maintained and Tigh put up a protest to being locked in the brig but to no avail. With no support, he left to rot in his cell. Soon after he showed himself to be a cylon traitor and joined his kind on the ressurection ship. Humans were in a bad situation with fuel down to 1 and population down to 4. But a miracle arrived in the form of a legendary discovery, which took 1 step closer to our destination. All we needed was one more jump. Baltar rushed to the FTL control and jumped us early. We lost 2 more population in the rush, but had finally made to Kobol

Battlestar Galactica game

Last night I played the Battlestar Galactica boardgame with a group of friends. There were a total of 7 of us, but only 6 could play (plays 3-6), which was fine because Emily wasn't interested in playing for as long as she knew it would take. This is not to say that it's necessarily a long game, but it was the first time to play for all of us, so of course it would take some time before we got into the groove. I could see it taking around 2-3 hours if people are familair with the game.

The way it works is each player picks a character at the start. Then at the begining of their turn they draw the number of skill cards their character card says they can. They move to anywhere on the board they want, and complete one action (the action can be found on one of their skill cards, their current location, or their character card). After the action has been completed, they flip over a crisis card and everyone deals with the crisis. The interesting part is that someone (or someones) is a cylon (traitor) and they can attempt to sabotage the crisis and prevent everyone else from passing it. After this, Galactica may or may not move one step closer to jumping. When Galactica jumps a distance of 8 and completes one more jump, then the humans win. If they don't, for any reason, the cylons win.

It's not an overly complicated game, it just provides the players with a lot options and most of them aren't that helpful, which makes sense. Life was not fun on Galactica. It ends up being a lot of trying to choose the least awful option.

Most of the fun of this game is from the interaction between the players. All the accusations and double talk and insuations that get thrown around during the course of the game. The fun isn't really from the game mechanics (some is but not nearly as much). There is also some enjoyment from being a fan of the show, because you can make jokes about the characters you're playing and the actions they're taking.

Personally, I had fun playing it. I could see myself getting this game and playing it on various occassions. It has a lot of small pieces so it's hard to take anywhere (liek camping), but I think it's easy enough to set up where it doesn't take up a huge amount of table space to play.

If your a fan of the show and/or a fan of more social games where the fun is in large part from the people you're playing with, I would recomend this game.

Fun Times.

Paintball was fun. We played a bunch of games and are still trying to equalize the field. I did get shot in the neck, which still stings a little this morning, but it was definitely a fun time.

Speaking of fun, tonight is game night, and I'm not sure how many people are showing up tonight at 7pm. It seems like there could be quite a few. It's possible that there'll be up to 10 people or so, all looking to play Battlestar Galactica, but it only plays up to 6 players. I guess I could set-up Rock Band, or have some other game going on the side. Scott said he could bring over Wii Sports Resort, which would be another fun option. Then again, how often is it that everyone shows up you said they would right?

Oh, I thought of another gift for emily, a sewing machine.

Kung Fu Panda

We finally watched Kung Fu Panda last night. I had heard good things about it and I must say that I wasn't disappointed. I thought it was a very good kung fu movie as well as a beautiful looking animated movie. It was pretty funny and I really enjoyed the action sequences. I did feel that they didn't really get into the personalities of the Furious Five, which made me wonder why they hired big celebrities to voice them. I guess that's what the extra dvd is for, which I believe I might have seen on television before this.

Oh, while I'm thinking about it, the drawn animation was gorgeous as well as the computer. They both convade the appropiate location and time frame. I especially liked the way they had the credits scroll sideways instead of from top-down. It was details like this that really showed how much care went into this movie. I would definitely recommend seeing this if you haven't yet.

Busy-ness

Boy did my week fill up quick. Tonight is movie night with Emily, tomorrow I have paintball, then it's game night, and then its Friday (which, surprisingly is still open), and Saturday I've been invited to a friend's game night. Oh, and I also still need to read my book club book and go through our stuff to sell at my sister-in-laws yard sale she plans to have in 2 weeks. It's pretty crazy.

I came across an old friend's blog and I've been trying to catch up on old posts. I've finally done it and I'm all caught up. Yea!

Why does Tricksy feel the need to push things with her face? Really it's more like "Why does she feel the need to push things off the table/counter with her face?" because she doesn't seem to have the same face rubbing thing that Oscar has. It's annoying, especially when she breaks dishes we like, like bowls made by friends or family or glasses gifted to us. I wish I knew how to stop her. Although I think it might be due to the fact that David spoiled her with attention while he lived here.

Oh, David sent us some gifts in the mail recently. Totally unexpected! It was pretty awesome. That boy's not that bad of an egg.

Speaking of gifts, I'm going to list some gifts Emily would like so I have future reference: standing fan (preferably with remote), netbook, clothes dryer, new stove/oven, clothes washer, and that's all I have for now. Oh, no, wait, a composter as well.

Comic Con (Haiku)

Now it is over.
I did not go. Wish I had.
Hopefully next year?

Ramble on

Yesterday was fun, in a way. I vacuumed, washed some dishes, played through another chapter of Half Life (1 not 2), and had some wine and conversation with Chris and Hortensia. It was good. I did notice that I now have trouble relaxing during movies and conversations, not so much with games. I'm not sure why, but the whole time I was doing either, I kept thinking about doing other things, instead of just being in the moment, even though the moment was enjoyable. Hurm.

I have trouble sleeping. Wait, let me rephrase that. I have trouble waking. I feel like it could be that I don't get 8 hours of sleep, but if I want to wake up at 6am, I'd have to go to bed at, what?, 10pm. That means be asleep by then, and that just seems an impossibility. We usually end up getting ready for bed around then, so it's not all bad, but it's not a full 8 hours either. Maybe I should try to reschdeule the day instead. Make plans assuming that I wake up at 6:30 or even 7.

Ok, I'm calling it now: we're playing Battlestar Galactica on Thursday. Even if it is just Emily, Alex and myself. Even if, for some strange reason, 10 people show up (it says it plays from 3-6 players). We are playing it. We'll make it work some how.

Morning Pages

As I have mentioned before, I have trouble with mornings. In the book The Artist Way, they talk about morning pages to help clear your head each day. Basically you just write down whatever's in your head. It seems easy enough, so why not give it a go right? I'm not saying I'm going to do it everyday, but maybe. And it almost never will be the 2 pages it asks for either, but something's better than nothing.

Last night we played D&D. I'm the GM and we've been going through the Keep on the Shadowfell module. My players finished off the story, defeating Kalarel in the end which helped reseal the rift to the Shadow realm. I noticed I need to work on my storytelling skills. At some point they thought they had to travel to Thunderspire to stop him, but that was a hook to another adventure. Maybe they're not used to hooks popping up that lead to other stories while fighting in the middle of one. Anyways, it was a long battle but our heroes pervailed. Now I have to buy the next module to continue the story. I'll be honest, I think these early modules could have used a little more polish, at least this first one. I haven't checked out any of the more recent ones, but I hope that they're a little more fleshed out.

I know that yesterday would be considered a "fun" day and so that would make today a "work" day, but I want to play some video games. Although, I would also like to get the dishes done and vaccuum the living room. Kids can really make a mess. But then again, so can cats, so it's not like we're not used to it. You know I can probably get all of those done today without much strain.

Excitebots is here!

So, Excitebots: Trick Racing is finally out. It seems to have been recieved well. It's gotten some fairly good reviews, a couple of so-so reviews, and at least one interesting one (to me at least). This being my first game to have done any work on, I find it all very exciting. I'm glad to see that it has gone over as well as it has. Here's hoping the momentum keeps up (I'll also except it if the momentum picks-up as well).

Monsters vs Aliens

Emily and I went to see Monsters vs Aliens the other night. As an animated children's movie I thought it was ok. It's very silly and makes some off the wall jokes. The story's pretty predictable and easy to follow. It's no Pixar movie but it does provide an enjoyable time.

We didn't see it in 3D, but there were some scenes that were in there solely to take advantage of the 3D technology (a paddle ball coming towards you and things like that). Emily doesn't get any extra enjoyment out of 3D movies and they cost a bit more than their 2D counterparts.

Emily couldn't get over the fact that the main character's head (the 49 foot woman) was proportionally larger than her body and no one else had the same affliction. I chalked it up to the animators trying to make her look "cute." My favorite parts were the parts that included Stephen Colbert playing as the president personally.

All in all, if you're a big 3D fan then go see it for that; but purely for the movie, I'd say it's worth renting if you have kids, but you're not missing much if you skip it.

VGO progress

So a friend of mine at work hosts a party every year called the Video Game Olympics. A large group of us get together at a lodge for three days and do nothing but drink beer, eat food, and play video games. There are brackets and teams and trophies. TVs and projectors are set-up all over the place. It's pretty fun. Last year (the 2007 VGOs) I came in 10th and won Rookie of the Year, but this year I came in 1st in a two events (Wii Home Run Derby and Legends on Wrestlemania) and I think I have a good chance of coming in 2nd overall. It was a blast.

Prioritize

I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I have a hard time prioritizing. Doesn't matter whether it's time or money or whatever. But I am taking steps. And one of them is to stop with the facebook games. They have no real use for me. Some are fun and only take a minute or two of my time, but these games that require you to interact with them everyday and penalize you if you don't, I'm done with. That's not a fun amusement, that's work. And I saw "No more!" If I want to play a game, I can play on the Xbox 360 or the Wii or even on my computer. I have way too many games piling up that I want to play. I should put my goofing off time into those.

That's all. Let me know if you have any other helpful tips.

It's almost Thanksgiving?

Crazy, but there's like only a week or so before Thanksgiving. We're having Em's family over again, like usual, but this year my mom's coming over as well. To be honest, I feel pretty good about it. I think this year will go better than any of the others. We have a menu planned out. Th house is starting from a cleaner condition than ever. Best of all, I only have 1 job and will probably be able to take off a few days before to help cook and clean.

Oh, about that. It seems like Nintendo is pushing us to get this game done by January. I'm not sure how these things usually go, but it seems a little fast. At first I didn't think so, but as the time goes by, there just seems to be more and more that needs to be done. We'll see how it goes.

Yea-ness!

Yeah, so if you didn't hear, Emily is working full time now at Just Food and got a raise to boot. This means I'm down to working one job now. I have all kinds of free time now, though most of it has lately been devoted to sleeping.

The odd thing is, that even with more time available now, I still have trouble getting ready in the morning and getting projects done. Any suggestions?

Iron Man

I saw Iron Man the other day. And yes I am a big fan of comics and comic based movies, but I've never been a big fan of Iron Man. I don't hate the guy, I've just never really had any interest in him. The movie, though changed that, somewhat.

First off, it's a well-done fun movie. As is popular now, and for good reason, the movie focuses on the man behind the mask. This was a great way to take the movie, but that's where all the interesting parts are. Yes, I go to see explosions and special effects, but lets face it, most of them are shown on the preview so by the time I see it in the theaters, I've already seen the effect 8 times. Robert Downey Jr is superb in his fleshing out of Tony Stark, Jeff Bridges plays up the villain to almost-over-the-top perfection, and for the most part Gwyneth Paltrow displays Pepper Pots, the love interest, as a strong independent woman (at the end, for some reason, her character deteriorates into a dumb blond). Obviously I would recommend it. And for those comic book fans out there, be sure to stick around after the credits for an amazing surprise.

Bit of trivia for ya': I believe this is the first movie fully funded by Marvel's movie department, which might explain that care that went into it.

Birthday Party

Ok, so I'm planning on having a birthday bash on June 28, 2008 at my house. It'll be like a game fest. There'll also be food, booze, cake, music, and games. I've been thinking about getting a few prizes together for the events as well. I haven't finalized all the events yet, but so far I was thinking of having maybe Super Puzzle Fighter, Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, ab roller racing, Munchkin, Chore Wars, Pacman CE, and whatever else I think of. Undoubtedly, there'll be some Rock Band playing as well. Party should start around noon, award ceremony around 10pm or so and end when it's over. Mark your calendars.

Rock Band got Better?

For those of you completely out of the loop, Rock Band had an update recently that made it even better. It makes the talking sections of singing easier to accomplish and it's now much easier to perform at all of the venues in Band World Tour. But the part that excited me the most is the addition of the Rock Band store. It had been possible to download songs for the game before, but it was fairly annoying. Now you can preview a song before buying it and it's all but eliminated double purchases. Way to go Harmonix!

Overdue Overview

Let me post a quick update for those few that might actually pay attention to this:

Work - I'm working at Monster Games in my dream job as a video game designer. I'm also working another second job at the James Gang Coffee House to help pay-off some bills, but am no longer going to school. Emily's still working at Just Food, but only as an office assistant, and for very part-time. She's also working at her acupuncturists as a receptionist. They've worked out a deal where she gets acupuncture and Chinese medicine in lieu of money. It actually works in our favor this way, plus she seems to be getting healthier.

Home - We're attempting to rearrange and organize our house, but it's slow going. We're cleaning out what used to be our studio so that David has his own room (our friend David has moved in and is now our roommate). We're attempting to convert the office into more of a gaming/studio space. We hope to finish out the garage and turn that into a more workable space. Emily would like to have a more defined garden this year as well.

Fun - I have an X-Box 360 now and have been playing on it some. Alex started DM'ing a D&D campaign that we meet together for once a week; I'm playing a female half-orc Cleric. So far it's been pretty fun. Emily's started to get back into her art, hence the changes in the house. She'd like to go back to school to learn more along the lines of graphic design, but we haven't worked that out quite yet.

That's a good dose for now. I plan on trying to post once a week, even if it's random thoughts.

I GOT IT!!!

I have a new job now! YEA! I will be working at Monster Games starting October 29th. I’m so excited! I’ll be working like 2 miles or so away from my house and working on video games as well. This is so awesome. I’ll have I job I don’t hate in some regard. What a novel idea. I haven’t met everyone there yet, but so far the few people I have met I get along with really well. The pay will be close to what I’m making now; technically it’ll be slightly less, but since they don’t deduct anything from your paycheck for benefits (which I’ll have as well) it’s quite possible that I’ll be bringing in more money than before. Score! It’s like a dream come true.

My position, if I remember correctly, is Assistant Producer. I’ll be helping with the design of game: the sounds, the colors, the game features, the tracks, etc. I’m not sure exactly what my day-to-day activities will be, but I’m sure I’ll pick it up in no time. I bet with my schooling, they’ll let me update their website, because it could use some help. Maybe even their logo. Man, I can’t wait!

New job?!?

On a lark, and because I’ve started to take as much from my current job as I can, I sent a cover letter and resume to Monster Games. As it turns out, they had a postion open and they asked if I wanted to apply, so I did. I’m very excited about all of this. The position is Assistant Producer/Design Intern. Basically you try to refine all kinds of aspects of the game to make it better (eg. item placement, sound effects, item colors, terrain refinement, etc.) This is like my dream job, ok it’s almost my dream job. My dream job would pay way more and it’d be a higher up position, but the activity is exactly the same. This is too awesome.

Plus, they’re located in Northfield, so I’d get to see Emily every day for lunch at the very least. I could bike to work on nice days. I could run errands before, after, or maybe even during work. They have flexible hours, so they won’t jump down my throat for being 10 minutes late occasionally. Plus I already have a friend working there.

I’ve only had one interview so far, but that went really well. It seemed like their only issue was that the position would be step down on the corporate ladder for me, but I explained to them that was not an issue for me. I’d rather being doing something I enjoy and support but have a lesser position than be management for a company who’s practices clash with my beliefs. Call me crazy.

My only problem is not getting too excited about it all. They’ve haven’t called to schedule a second interview yet, and until they actually offer me the position, I don’t have it. But I can’t help but daydream about working there. Hell, I’ve been daydreaming about working there for at least a year now, and there wasn’t even a position involved then.