Bring on the Election Games!

Isn’t it fascinating that the viewing audience for the Vice Presidential debate was significantly larger than the debate between the Presidential candidates?  Not only that, but the draw of 73 million viewers makes it the most watched debate of any kind behind the debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter in 1980.  Wow.  That can definitely be chalked up to the Palin factor.  People have a morose attraction to the catastrophic, and regardless of who you support in the race, I think most people will agree that the likelihood for a train-wreck appeared high.

Now that the VP debates are over, what’s a hungry electorate to do?  I’m not suggesting you should play video games per se, but this election game kicks ass!!  Literally.  It’s essentially Street Fighter and the fighting characters to choose from are Obama, McCain, Michelle, Cindy, Biden and Palin.  Absolutely fantastic.  Play Kung Fu Election here!

Summer in the City

It’s finally feeling like summer in SF.  I love it!  A group of 10 of us actually had a picnic lunch yesterday! Atop blankets, on grass, in the shade of a lush tree in South Park, in the middle of quiet, yet bustling SF.  Sound far-fetched?  I was there and I can barely believe it! 

The killer thing here is that you can have an amazing summer experience too!  Right at your desk, actually.  There is a fun new game that was released last week by game developer Alexander Shen called Summer of Lawn.  It is a game of chance and cheek.  That’s right.  And it’s a Lawn Mowing video game.  Odd, you say?  Creative, I say.  What else reminds you of summer more than happy chirping  birds, lush green grass, and the sound of a powerful lawnmower?  OK, hot dogs at a ball game works too, but if you’re inside, it’s hard to beat Summer of Lawn.

Give it a couple of goes to get the full affect and work your way through the slew of cheeky insults.  I’d like to suggest an interactive feature where players who make the leaderboard can submit fresh new insults that might be featured in the game!

Play the game here!

A Costanza Classic

Do you remember watching the Seinfeld episode where George discovers that he still holds the highest game score on Frogger at the pizza joint they frequented as kids?  It’s a classic!!  And it’s hard for me to play Frogger without visualizing George turning into a real-life version of Frogger as he moved the video game machine across a crowded street of cars and trucks — to its eventual doom.

If you’re having a hard time rembering the episode, or missed it altogether, check out the youtube clip here.  And if you’re feeling nostalgic, give the game a go!

I’d love to hear about other classic TV episodes or movies with strong video game references.  Share  yours via a comment if you have one!

I <3 Othello

Growing up, my brother and I played Othello probably a thousand times.  It was my favorite board game.  If you haven’t played Othello before, it’s a game of strategy similar to Tic Tac Toe — but much more fun and challenging.  It’s a great game for any age group, and a fun way to engage the mind.

Give the online version of this classic board game a try here. The graphics and play may be simple, but it delivers!

Bday cookies + Soul Calibur IV = A great combo

I recently joined the Mochi Media team and earlier this week we celebrated our CEO’s bday with cookies and milk.  Super fun.  But the highlight for me was playing Soul Calibur IV for the first time.  I had a captive audience of cookie eaters, and there were ’oooh’s and ‘ahh’s all around as the newbie and first time Soul Calibur gamer took to button mashing like a star, killing everyone in my wake.  Not a bad way to get props as a newbie.

Soul Calibur IV is available on Xbox and PS3.  It reminds me a lot of the StreetFighter games.  You should definitely try it out!  Cookies are optional, but recommended.

Totem Destroyer — nearly Jenga!

A couple weeks ago I posted a blog about Jenga and how cool it would be to have an online version of Jenga where you can play against friends and the tower would jiggle and tumble like it does in real life play?  A friend pointed me to Totem Destroyer which is a single player game, but similar to Jenga, except there is an ape-looking glowing totem that you have to get to the ground safely by knocking down blocks that stand between the totem and solid  ground…  Kinda fun - check it out!

Pineapple Express Donkey Kong

Yep, you read right, combine the new Seth Rogen stoner movie with Donkey Kong and you’ve got the Pineapple Express video game.  You get points from picking up soda, potato chips, tacos, and pizzas, and have to jump over perilous pineapples on your way to saving your stoner friend.  If you like Donkey Kong, you’ll like this!  Check it out here!

Momentous!

I made my first showing on a leader board today!  Let’s not get carried away, it’s all about perspective! In Rigby you bounce a small ball around and try to bump it against a series of blocks without letting it bounce inbetween block contact.  Pretty simple game but it holds a special place in this beginner gamer’s heart.

Playing with Lightning at Elkhart Lake

Hi kids!  Thanks for sticking in there while I’ve been away on vaca - and thanks for checking back.  I had a lovely break at Elkhart Lake, in  Wisconsin’s Sheboygan Bay on my first trip to the Midwest.  I put on some vaca lbs despite canoeing and biking around the lake and partaking in the annual “Swim across the lake” tradition.  We had 30 people on the hour-long swim across the lake and back.  The swim involved several noodles, innertubes, canoes and kayaks.  I think 5 people actually “swam” the thing.

As it is with beginner’s luck in playing games, my first-time-visitor-in-Wisconsin-luck gave me the chance to play with lightning!!  I was at Chester’s, my first carhop experience (where waitresses come up to your car to take your order and bring out your meal on a metal tray which they clip to the door) when a bolt of lightning struck the restaurant.  Ridiculous, frightening, and exciting!!  I now have curly hair.  It looks fabulous.

What’s in making a game?

BoomsticK is a shooting game where a a stick-figure shoots moving targets in the sky.  When a target is hit, it rains ammunition that the shooter must pick up to restock on ammo.  Pretty basic game with basic graphics.  I only made it to level 1, so maybe I’m missing out on the advanced level theatrics, but if you’re like me, you might have your fill after a few games.

I’ve never created a game but I’d be interested in hearing from people who are familiar with creating games to understand what’s involved with making this type of seemingly simple game.  Is it hard or is it easy?  And is this game purposely simple to attract fast play for a larger audience?