Hi, y’all; I’m back! Between rounds of THPS 1+2, Tenacious D rallied the troops and recorded a cover of a classic Rocky Horror Picture Show song to get people to vote. I’ve already voted, and if you’re in the US, the whole world really needs you to vote, too. Don’t let anything stop you. This country needs a jump to the left and not a step to the right.
Source: Tenacious D via Metal Hammer via looking up an Alestorm song via Alestorm’s cover of Dizzee Rascal
The local arcades here recently got some exposure in the Columbus Dispatch. 16-Bit started a movement, and now a bunch of new arcades are popping up around town. Once I get to play at all of them, I’ll rank them in a fighting game tier list right here.
When Benjamin Morgan pitched his idea for an arcade to investors, the particulars of his upscale game plan didn’t quite click. “Their response was: ‘So, you’re opening a Chuck E. Cheese?’?” said Morgan, 29. Not exactly. His Old North Arcade is an adults-only hangout north of Ohio State University stocked with 30 vintage titles and 20 craft-beer taps. The venue targets nerd-chic enthusiasts of both Missile Command and microbrews. Call it Arcade 2.0.
In other local news, Columbus Retro League’s Chris Bidwell is playing in the Nintendo World Championships 2015 in Los Angeles. Watch him beat down a bunch of YouTubers this Sunday.
Source: The Columbus Dispatch via Arcade Super Awesome, and Nintendo of America’s Twitter via Chris Bidwell
Since the beginning, I’ve been using this blog to improve my communication skills. I push myself to write clear and concise posts like I read on Reuters, TwistedSifter, Tiny Cartridge, and Daily Overview. I use Hemingway when it’s time to edit my thoughts down to a single paragraph. Hemingway highlights any parts that are hard to read so I can make sure the finished post still makes sense.
Hooray for self-demonstrating articles! My title text doesn't have the one paragraph limit and I don't normally run it through Hemingway. I tried Hemingway on this title text and it's Grade 6 (Good). It doesn't like adverbs like "normally".
Source: Hemingway Editor via I think Lifehacker
30-Day Video Game Music Challenge (Super Hard Mode) Day 11: Puzzle game music From Tetris Effect (PS4, 2018)
Multiplayer modes are coming, but will they use the VR environments and keysounded music that made this the best classic Tetris?
Source: YouTube and Hydelic, challenge by OverClocked ReMix I think?, via NintendoCapriSun
Awesome Games Done Quick 2015 is underway and my favorite games are already getting destroyed by top speedrunners. Check the schedule for the games you don’t want to miss. The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive block has just begun. I keep the Twitch stream in fullscreen on one monitor and the QuakeNet IRC chat open on the other. While this is going on, I’ll be working on my own broken platform game for the VOGJam.
Wait, how did I post about this last year? Click the banner to go to the stream.
Source: https://gamesdonequick.com, YouTube, and the banner via the AGQD 2015 megathread via the FAQ
Awesome Games Done Quick is known for its highly skilled human players, but TASBot’s tool-assisted runs stole the show today. In Brain Age, TASBot draws pictures and text that are somehow interpreted as numbers. It’s like Ryuto’s famous Brain Age TAS, but with a live audience?
(The run starts at 15:22.)
Source: YouTube via Games Done Quick
If you still use screen savers, Columbus-based developer M \ K Productions has a good one for you. Nintendo Saver 2015 fills your monitors with several NES games. Each one is actually a fully-functioning NES emulator playing a replay that was recorded in UberNES, and if you like, you can pick up a gamepad and take over control of one of the games on the spot. The recorded replays include my Super Mario Bros 3 playaround and a couple shorter videos showing glitches in Super Mario Bros 1 and Mega Man 2. If you like it, maybe I’ll record some more.
Source: http://www.ubernes.com/nesscreensaver.html via the UberNES – NES Screen Saver Facebook page
I’ve been updating my VOGJAM game Skeleton Hunter with new features like custom button mapping. PC games need this because players might have foreign keyboards, nonstandard gamepads, or disabilites that make the default controls unusable. Mine works like the PC version of Skullgirls where every action has both a keyboard key and a gamepad button, and you can assign them one by one or all at once. Please try it and tell me if the menus work the way you expect them to.
Source: my game Skeleton Hunter v1.02 reusing code from my Control Config Demo
Hi, blog! It’s been a couple months! I almost forgot how to do these posts. Yuumei, designer of the original Cat Ear headphones, painted some musical instruments made of glass. I wonder how they would sound. Crystal flutes exist, and I imagine string instruments would sound pretty normal too. When hitting a drum with water in it, the air and the water would make two different sounds at the same time. Then there’s the fish tank piano, which would take physical strength to play but make super deep, eerie tones. Underwater performances are possible!
Source: Yuumei via Pixiv several years ago
My glass instruments series :) I’ve been meaning to add more instruments in the future but it’s hard to find time between all the projects. They are all available as prints, wallscrolls, post cards and tote bags at https://www.yuumeiart.com/shop/