At the moment, I’ve got a nice week off from the sturm und drang of school, which means that I finally get to play a bunch of games I’ve been neglecting. I’ve just started Zelda: Twilight Princess, which is excellent - I really like its atmosphere and the controls don’t feel all that gimmicky, either. I’ve also been chugging along at Phoenix Wright 2, which is good over-the-top fun as always. Though, for some reason, the English translation of this game bothers me more than that of the first one did. Maybe it’s because I have a personal bias against the use of the word “alright” instead of “all right”…

Furthermore, I’ve been teaching myself how to use OGRE, because, y’know, 3D gaming is, like, totally the way of the future. Not that I’m completely giving up the 2D world or anything like that; it’s just that both have their strengths and weaknesses, and I feel it’s necessary as a game designer slash programmer to familiarize oneself with both.

In non-gaming-related news, I’ve recently switched from Trillian to Miranda for my instant messaging-related needs. I’ve been a devout user of the former for years, even going so far as to pay for it once; however, it hardly ever gets updated, and had quite a few bugs with its MSN implementation, which I was kind of getting sick of. Miranda, on the other hand, does get updated on a regular basis, and is far more minimalistic, yet still very nice and customizable. And functional too, at that.

Today, my captive audience, you are all in for a real treat, for I have finished my first-ever one room game using the Lassie engine! It’s called “When We Were Kids”, and you play a little girl who’s just gotten her beloved handheld gaming system stolen by the school bully. It’s also my first real attempt at creating an adventure game puzzle with multiple solutions. And it’s completely playable from within your web browser. So, check it out already. It’ll only take a few minutes of your precious time, after all.

In other news, there’s a lovely little interview with yours truly at I Eat Games, in which I talk about Cubert, TGTTPOACS, and life. You should all definitely check that out as well.

If writing for Adventure Gamers has taught me one thing, it’s that it’s not all that easy to review other people’s games when you yourself are a game developer. Well, maybe it is if you’re a renowned expert in your field, but for a struggling amateur like myself, sometimes I wonder. Do I have any right to pass judgement on a game when my own work to date is probably not nearly as good?

On the other hand, I, as a game developer, put greater meaning to constructive criticism from other game developers than from those who only look at the games from a consumer’s perspective. The opinions of people who play your game are important, sure, but somehow, I’m much more willing to take practical advice from people who actually know firsthand what it takes to make a game great, rather than people with a vague theories on the subject that haven’t ever been put into practice.

Ah well. It’s quite a learning experience, that’s for sure.