Sideshow & Syrana

I know I can’t be the only one that has dreams that incorporate gaming elements or dreams about games.  The game I find sneaking into my subconscious the most is World of Warcraft.  I suppose it doesn’t help that I often listen to the soundtracks while falling asleep.  (The Eversong Woods music with the cellos and haunting voices is super relaxing.)

I previously shared a very whacked out dream that involved Samodean, Chris Metzen, and a live action zombie demo.  I had a LOT of details to share since I wrote it all down as soon as I could after waking up.

More commonly I remember snippets, if that.  What I’ve noticed more lately is that waking up is part of a quest chain.

I’ve had dreams where hitting the snooze button is a repeatable quest.

I’ve also had dreams that the “A” button was the snooze button.

Dreams are weird.  And yes, that’s a scientific term.

Ya know, I think this is why I love to slow time down when my Sims are sleeping.  Usually the game will auto-speed up time when the entire household is asleep.  I mean, they are sleeping, you don’t have anything to manage after all.  But, I like to slow it down just to watch the dream bubbles.

Hmm.

I never realized just how creepy that was before.

You know, there are a lot of songs that use some variation of this post’s title in either lyrics or title.  I can think of at least 3 right now.

This is the kind of post I don’t like to write and most “how to blog” guides will warn you to never write.

Well, screw it.

I’ma do it anyway.

I apologize for my hiatus, it lasted MUCH longer than I expected.  I only anticipated being absent from the blog and Twitter for a few days while I played through Heavy Rain.  (I even had to miss an episode of Polygamerous!)

Unfortunately, a mix of work craziness (it is seriously kicking my ass right now, but I’ve complained enough through minimal tweets over the past week, me thinks) and not feeling well meant almost zero time getting intimate with my home PC.

*pats monitor* I know, baby, you were getting lonely.

Thankfully, Sideshow had my back and cranked out a few posts to keep this place from looking like a completely barren wasteland.

I’m still going to have some ups and downs until work calms back down.  I was just going to start this week off with a post and act like I hadn’t been MIA for nearly two weeks, but I love y’all more than that.

You may have noticed that the internet has been just a little quieter the past few days.

And you are right.  I’ve been a bit absent from much of anything related to the internet since Tuesday.

You see…this game that I’ve been anxiously awaiting has been released.  It’s very important for me to moonlight as a detective and catch the Origami Killer.

I’m closing in on him too… I think.

I hope.

Anywho, first playthrough should be complete soon, then I might hit up a second one this weekend.

We’ll see, because I have to play nice and let Sideshow get some time in too.  (And not spoil things.  It’s really hard for me to keep quiet ’round him, but I’m doing it so far!)

Expect clear skies with scattered tweets and posts next week.

In the meantime, if you would like some Sideshow & Syrana-y goodness…

We got the opportunity to hang with the /2 Podcast crew last Friday and it was a blast!  Sideshow and I let loose on Episode 26.  Or at least, I let loose after I stopped trying to censor myself and remembered /2 is full of mature language, hehe.

1. No matter how independent I may be (or try to be) there may be things I still depend on others for
2. Sleep is a precious commodity
3. If you have something yummy to eat, I want to try some too
4. We can be friends even if we don’t totally understand each other’s language
5. I can get your attention by being friendly
6. Sometimes we just need to whine and cuddle
7. I’d rather hold it than use a filthy bathroom
8. I’m always excited to see someone I care about
9. Curiosity and caution are actually good traits
10. Alone time is needed, as is play time with others

(I blame Krizzlybear, who’s been doing a lot of song parodies this month!  This one is based upon Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day [Lyrics] [Video])

I walk a lonely road
The only zone that I have ever known
Don’t know where you are
But it’s fun for me and I quest alone

I quest this empty zone
On the Barrens Road of Broken Dreams
Where the centaur sleeps
and I’m the only one and I quest alone

I quest alone
I quest alone

I quest alone
I quest a…

My mini-pet’s the only one that travels with me
No recruit-a-friend to keep me company
Sometimes I wish someone would group up with me
‘Til then I quest alone

Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,
Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah

I’m heading north this time
Can’t decide which quest chain to follow
On the border now
Of the Barrens and Ashenvale, wait

Who’s coming at me
I fucked up and flagged myself and died
Time to find my corpse
Resurrect again, and so I quest alone

I quest alone
I quest alone

I quest alone
I quest a…

My mini-pet’s the only one that travels with me
No recruit-a-friend to keep me company
Sometimes I wish someone would group up with me
‘Til then I quest alone

Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah
Ah-ah, Ah-ah

I quest alone
I quest a…

I quest this empty zone
On the Barrens Road of Broken Dreams
Where the centaur sleeps
and I’m the only one and I quest alone

My mini-pet’s the only one that travels with me
No recruit-a-friend to keep me company
Sometimes I wish someone would group up with me
‘Til then I quest alone…

If you are just joining us or are looking for a refresher, the entire series can be found here.

Generation 2: Aerissa and Caleb

Shortly after things started to calm down on the family compound, tragedy struck again.  This segment of the family’s story will be best told through screenshots of the emotions and thoughts alone.  I’m not sure there is much I can add to the description other than… Death likes to party.  (Yes, this one will be a bit screenshot heavy.)

(continue reading…)

So… I’ve been playing around with formspring, right?

Courtesy of Wildphotons @ Flickr

Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

5 – Anonymous questions are the most risque

4 – Answering anonymous questions is fun

3 – Answering any question is fun

2 – I like to babble (wait, we knew that one already)

And the number one thing I’ve learned from formspring…

Having boobs will save me from falling into a pit of liquid hawt mag-ma.

This week I offer you some gaming, writing, and movie link love.  Enjoy!

Do you want to be a writer? Then check out this job posting for the position of being an unpublished writer.  (A fantastic guest post from Tami!)

Also, if you haven’t been to Tami’s site… just… go.  I starred several of her posts, but really I  need to star her whole blog.  So instead of linking every wonderful post – I am just going to urge you to head on over there!

Mutant Reviews From Hell have a list of the 10 romantic comedies worth watching.  Personally, I usually don’t watch many of those, but this is a good list.  And it has one of my favorite movies on there!

Check out Polygamerous Episode 12: Russell and the Mothman! Not only was it a fun show, there’s this awesome interview I did with CCP Games…

Darcy and Russell had the opportunity to talk with CCP Manifest (PR Associate) and CCP Jasonitas (Content Team) from CCP Games, the developer of EVE Online.  They provided us with some great information regarding the unique sandbox game world of New Eden as well as some of the challenges of running the universe on a single shard.  CCP Manifest and CCP Jasonitas discussed their current roles and how they got started with CCP Games.  CCP Jasonitas shared which mission he wrote is his favorite, and what their favorite aspect of the game is.  We also took a look at the relationship between the developers and the player community, especially in regards to the Council of Stellar Management (CSM), which gives elected players a chance to meet face-to-face with developers to discuss issues, concerns, and suggestions.  We lightly touched upon the highly anticipated Incarna expansion and the console MMOFPS DUST 514 which are currently in development.  Of course, we confirmed they have been Polygamerized as well.  Oh! And we even asked CCP Jasonitas about the Mothman.

Also! Make sure to listen in to Slash 2 Podcast this Friday at 7pm CST, where Sideshow and I join them for an evening.

Euripedes of Critical QQ reminds us that gaming is a hobby and ponders why it isn’t always viewed that way by outsiders and even some insiders.

Miss Medicina shows us her geeky nerd side.  Or is it nerdy geek side?

I love a good song parody, and there’s one about the new dungeon finder tool set over at Kill Ten Rats.

Speaking of Kill Ten Rats … Ravious has been working with Massively on how bloggers can build relationships with community managers.  I found it pretty informative – check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Formspring.me is still relatively new and I thought I’d share why I think it can be valuable to use.  I know several people aren’t interested in it or don’t really know what it is.  Even if you don’t end up using if for yourself, maybe this post will at least help reveal some of its appeal.

Ease Of Use

Formspring.me is not particularly amazing in terms of it’s look or innovation.  However, it is easy to use.  Signing up is pretty straight forward.  After you sign up, you can choose to connect it to other social media networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr).  Once you do this, you are able to let your followers and friends know about your link.

You can also choose which networks (if any) you want to send out per question. There are check boxes allowing you to be selective.  Contrary to popular (negative) belief, using formspring.me does not equal auto spam of every question.  While I still stand by my rant the other day, I personally choose to only tweet a few questions and answers sporadically (but even that can annoy some people). (continue reading…)

(Part 46) For the complete list of this series, please go here.

After a few moments of solitude in Sunfury Spire, Aerissa repositioned the cowl Twyla loaned her to obscure her face.  As Aerissa passed the large fountain on her way out of the Court of the Sun, distant shouting caught her attention.  She peeked over her shoulder at the commotion amongst the guards and quickly headed for the Bazaar.

She checked the information Tomber had given her and searched for the shop.  Aerissa wandered along the outer ring of the Bazaar, gazing at the window displays.  Occasionally she would stop to admire this item or that for a few moments, then move along, but the next window Aerissa passed drew her in.

She gasped, moving closer to the window.  Aerissa placed her hands upon the glass, staring at the beautiful dress before her.

“Ouch!” Aerissa yelped as the prick of the needle poked her hip.

“Hold still, missy!” The seamstress said sternly.  She readjusted the needle, wrapped measuring tape around Aerissa’s waist and pinned another bit of fabric.  “I can’t custom fit this dress if you keep squirming.” (continue reading…)