A new version of The Interview is up, complete with more of that tasty anti-aliased goodness you saw in the newest version of Cubert Badbone, as well as improved character-following scripting and the removal of that taunting “coming sometime in 2004″ message from the end credits. I sort of redesigned the TGTTPOACS splash-screeny website as well, but only because I wanted a site with a blue background, considering that all my other sites have a black background and I like to have variety.

Once I finish that darn game that takes place on a cruise ship, I plan on making a SLUDGE beginner’s guide. Many of us SLUDGE veterans have discussed the possibility of a SLUDGE beginner’s guide in the past, but we’ve all been too busy making games to actually do so. This time, I promise I’ll do my best to get one started and finished, seeing as I have a not-so-secret love for writing documentation, especially if I’m allowed enough leeway to insert sarcastic little quips throughout.

The website that hosts this beginner’s guide, of course, will have a green background.

Well, I just finished replaying Grim Fandango. I love it as much as I did the first time I played it, only this time, owing to my fantastic memory, I didn’t need a walkthrough.

I remember the first time I got sucked into the Land of the Dead, some seven years ago. My favourite part was, and still is, Year Two in Rubacava, with its nightlife, its poetry, and its jazz music. I remember how beautiful the graphics were, and how I kept putting Grim Fandango desktop themes on my computer for months. I remember how much I loved the music that played outside the Calavera Cafe, and how I spent ages having Manny walk aimlessly outside just so I could listen to it. I remember going up and down the elevator by the Blue Casket and marvelling at how fast it went and how scary it would be to ride it. It reminded me of one of those Drop of Doom rides at amusement parks.

Years later, the game has, without a doubt, aged well. The same atmosphere that inspired me at thirteen has managed to touch my heart once again, without fail. And to be honest, I haven’t seen anything like it since.

Today, I decided that I felt a little generous[1] and posted some music I just composed up on the Internet. To be precise, it’s the theme song for the seventeen-piece boy band that performs in the S.S. Asylum’s talent contest in TGTTPOACS. I rather like how it turned out. It makes me want to dance around and be cheerful.

On another note, I’m quite amused that this thread over at Adventure Gamers is still active. If you’re too lazy to look, it consists of a precocious fifteen-year-old boy arguing that all fan games[2] are of terrible quality and not worth playing, and of many adventure developers whining about how wrong he obviously is. At some point, even I got in on the debate, because it’s been ages since I’ve taken part in a good flame war. Ain’t that sad or what?

I must say, however, that Richard Longhurst and the Box that Ate Time really is pure genius.

Well, I’m finally done exams. Oh, joy. In celebration, I have decided to repost an insightful little list I found while surfing around on how to deal with INTJs.[1] I’m sure you would all find it useful when it comes to interacting with myself and people like me.

But wait, there's more! »

Good news, everyone! This weekend, I finished the first of TGTTPOACS’s four endings. This means that you can technically finish the game, only you’ll also be able to wander into a fair share of not-yet-properly-coloured rooms and pick up a bunch of inventory items that would be of absolutely no use to you. Unfortunately, it still means I have quite a bit more work to do when it comes to the rest of the endings. I’d ballpark the overall completion of the game at about two thirds.

But wait, there's more! »

Today, I had the unique opportunity to test the newest, not-yet-released version of the SLUDGE engine, which features anti-aliased characters. It looked so pretty that I decided to release an anti-aliased Cubert Badbone. Grab it toute suite! As an added bonus, this newest version has a few bugs fixed (the game crashed if you tried to save during the intro, apparently), and is back in fullscreen mode, by popular demand.

In other news, after what seems like an eternity, I’ve recently started posting on the AGS forums again. It all started when someone posted a comparison of AGS and the proposed feature list of SCRAMM, and everyone who was in the amateur adventure game scene back during the SCRAMM days chimed in and started reminiscing. Of course, I couldn’t resist popping in with a “hey, what’s up?” and adding my two cents.

But wait, there's more! »

This evening, I took a much-needed break from studying and - get this - saw Casablanca. In a MOVIE THEATRE.

Casablanca is one of the greatest movies of all time.[1] After all, without it, we wouldn’t have Grim Fandango and Discworld Noir, and those happen to be two of the greatest adventure games of all time. Truly, all is right in the world.