By the end of this excursion, I vow that no line will be left unpainted. Part two of our Line Painting Extravaganza (LPE) can be found here. Because these comics are being stockpiled for his vacation, I basically have them all in front of me now. If you consider the premise ridiculous, and this would be understandable, know now that we have only begun to redic. Making games is a hard, hard dollar, and I think that Precipice will probably give me my fill of the practice, but God Damn what I wouldn't do for a turn-based, strategic game of Table Tennis with Paint the Line as its thematic underpinning.
I purchased Alone in the Dark instead of Final Fantasy Tactics A2 or Bad Company, and I don't know if it was a great idea yet. At the very least, I feel like I understand more of the forces in play.
I was trying to figure out where I had heard of Eden, the company behind the new "AITD," because that name was present in my mind. They did the incredibly elaborate Test Drive Unlimited, a racing game that appeared to be sent backward in time from some future age where driving games were a fundamental component of democracy. The experience was inexplicable at times, and you had to just accept certain parts of their dialectic. I assumed these were simply the side effects of time travel.
I've only played a couple chapters of Alone in the Dark, and a sometimes profound directorial vision is apparent. I mean it: you'll see things in the first few hours here that you have never seen before, in any game. Big, big ideas. Then, you will take damage for apparently no reason, or you will die instantly. You won't know why. At first, I thought - ghosts? But no. The game is just broken, and it's hard to know what is happening sometimes.
I really think this explains everything we have seen in the review context. The Sevens are "true," at least as true as the Threes are. It's a matter of where you take your sample - as the experience oscillates up, or down. Even in my relatively short playtime, the qualitative sensation of play shifts hard from pure nirvana to molar-grinding rage.
As we've discussed, the game incorporates an innovative means of skipping scenes you don't like. It's a feature. So how does one score a game where one can pick and choose, savoring precision bits like one would a Whitman's Sampler? It's another glimpse of the medium's future, perhaps, where some digital mom can cut the crusts from your games.
(CW)TB out.
dreams are like diamonds in a rainbow of power
I don't know if it's the summer break or what but I've been getting a lot of mail from people who are just now trying out our game. Many of them end with questions about episode 2 and it's release date. I can't say for sure when it will be done but I can say that my work on it is pretty much complete and I've actually started sketching and visualizing some of the elements in episode 3. I've also had a few people ask about moving their character from episode 1 to episode 2. Your character will transfer over and you'll actually get some cool bonuses if you do. That's not to say that you couldn't start the series at episode 2 but those of you moving your existing characters over will just get a couple extra treats.
Like I said, my work on the second episode is done for the most part. I'm still looking over all the new cut scenes as they come in and that sort of thing but all the concept art has been done for a while. In fact I thought I'd share one of my favorites with you guys here. I don't want to go into too much detail about where you encounter these guys or why but here's the design for one of the new enemies.
The vicious Hat Spider is a deadly new foe. As ferocious as he is fashionable. Just because you're an eight-legged nightmare doesn't mean you can't accessorise.
It's also worth noting that we'll have Episode 2 on display at PAX this year. Basically we've tried to put in more of the stuff you told us you liked and fix the stuff you didn't. You can still grab the demo for episode 1 from Xbox Live, Greenhouse and Steam. I suppose if you haven't tried it by now, chances are you just don't want to play it. I can respect that decision. However, you will not be invited to my birthday party. I can neither confirm nor deny the rumors of not one but two clowns.
-Gabe out
and
Both were done by Kris Straub, who tells me that the first track is "for the opening credits," while the second "is for right after the high-five in front of the explosion." More guest pieces to come soon.
(CW)TB
The next installment of our epic D&D adventure is now online. People really seem to like Jim Darkmagic so I made a wallpaper based on the art for today's podcast.
Click for the high res
I also had a lot of requests for a wallpaper based on the Deepcrow poster we'll have at Comic Con.
Click for the high res
-Gabe out
I guess this is just like post day or something. I'll try and put everything else I want to mention into one post here.
Our store now has Penny Arcade book 5. This one kicks off with a very nice introduction from Wil Wheaton and then covers all our comics from 2004. You can also pick up a five book bundle which will get you significant savings.
Also new to the store is our very first hat. This one comes emblazoned with Kiko's "Heroism" design.
In other news, these guys are playing like every single Mario game ever and their doing it live on Ustream. Under normal circumstances I'd call these guys bat shit insane. However, they're doing this in an effort to raise money for Child's Play. The only thing I can't understand is why they didn't call it the Mariothon. I mean, come on guys.
This is a song that a girl wrote about Penny Arcade. I like it.
-Gabe out
