All posts tagged PC

An Entertaining Weekend

Martin · 16 years

Though it still feels like I got the required amount of relaxation this weekend, I look back on all the stuff I did (or played and watched, to be more specific) and almost feel like I couldn't have. Throughout the weekend I've watched two movies, beaten one game, played through a good amount of another, spent a good portion of time with my girlfriend, and even got some work done on some web/game stuff I've been meaning to do.

Tropic Thunder

The first thing my girlfriend and I did on Sunday was head on over to the local theater to catch the matinee of Tropic Thunder. I'd read glowing reviews, a little bit of controversy, and I'm a fan of both Ben Stiller and Jack Black, so I had a feeling the movie would be good. And it was. From the opening trailers (go see it, you'll see) to the end credits, the movie was intensely funny. If you're into comedy flicks and you don't mind humor that is occasionally offensive humor, you'll enjoy Tropic Thunder.

Before the movie began, we sat through all the silly trailers. I think that out of the seven to eight trailers shown before Thunder started, only one looked decent. Most of them just left me, my girlfriend, and the rest of the audience making jokes and shaking our heads in shame and disgust. One trailer in particular comes to mind now, for "Disaster Movie," but not because it was particularly good, and surely not because the movie looks like it will be anything but another steaming pile of crap in the line of "_____ Movie" parody films.

I find it funny that the trailer for Disaster Movie was shown though, because after watching Topic Thunder, you can't help but feel bad for anyone who actually believes that that movie, or any of its ilk, is in any way "real" comedy. I guess every now and then Hollywood manages to produce something above and beyond the norm, and it serves to put all the other trash back in its place. That's not to say that Tropic Thunder is a perfect movie (it's certainly not), but it's entertaining, it's damn funny, and it makes you wish more movies could be like it.

Overlord

About a week ago, while I was waiting for my girlfriend to get done picking out some clothes at the local mall, I wandered into the nearby GameStop and found a game I'd been meaning to pick up for some time but hadn't yet seen it available for $20: Overlord.

It's not the best game ever made; the controls are a little hard to get used to, and the camera bugs me sometimes. But I really like the concept of Overlord, and the way the game actually works is just really amusing to me, so I enjoy playing it. Overall, there's a lot more good stuff here than bad.

In Overlord, you play as the newly resurrected, evil "Overlord," and you lead an ever-growing horde of minions (little gremlin-ish creatures) to do your bidding. At your command, the throng of minions will destroy everything in sight, gang up on baddies, and clear the way for you to continue forth. As you play, you gain the ability to control different types of minions, each with a unique ability. You also learn magical spells and forge new items at your tower. The core game works a lot like Fable, where you pick up new quests as you move along, and have the option to complete them when you want, albeit instead of having to choose between acting good or evil, in Overlord, you usually have to choose between acting evil or acting more evil.

As I mentioned above, I really like the idea behind Overlord - that some nameless, evil guy runs around with his crowd of minions, and together they conquer the land. It's a clever idea, and it runs against the grain of all the traditional "hero" games in a really fine way. The voice acting for the minions and their leader is excellent and brings the game to life in a way that could not have been achieved otherwise. The ability to customize your evil tower and imbue your arsenal with the powers of your minions were also great additions and serve to round out the game in a satisfying way. Codemasters put a lot of effort into making Overlord fun to play, and in my opinion, they succeeded.

Hopefully that opinion doesn't change as I much through the rest of the game!

The Simpsons Movie

I finally had the opportunity to watch <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/simpsons_movie/" target="_blank">The Simpsons Movie</a>, and I enjoyed it a lot. The movie was consistently funny throughout, and not one opportunity was lost to use one of the show's hundreds of characters. I've always liked how the Simpsons works so many levels of subtle (and often not-so-subtle) social commentary into the plots of each show, and the movie followed suit with this trait in spades.

Truthfully, the whole thing seemed a bit like a really long episode of the normal show, only with better animation, but I think this was one of the movie's strengths. It gave the writers time to do jokes that simply aren't possible within the constraints of a thirty minute show, and there's hardly a moment where you feel like the film has lost its momentum.

There are plenty of awesomely funny moments in The Simpsons Movie, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the show.

Braid

After spending over three hours working out the last two puzzles I had left (one of which I solved on accident after giving up completely), I've finally beaten Braid. I won't spoil things for anyone who's playing (or planning on playing) the game, but I will say that the ending is appropriate to the rest of the game, and I can say with confidence that if you enjoyed the game up to the end, you will enjoy the ending a lot.

3D Animated Texture Water

Like that picture above? That's a screenshot of a new 3D water example I've got ready for release - but I really want to write up a tutorial so people can learn how I made the textures included in the example. It looks great in motion!

Anyway, that's my weekend in a nutshell. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the delays between posts, I'll try to be more prompt with future posts.

Braid Is Incredible

Martin · 16 years

Every now and then a game comes along and takes you by surprise. I had the pleasure of experiencing this a few days ago, and I feel that my horizons as both a gamer and a developer have expanded because of it.

The harbinger of my elation goes by but a single name: Braid.

By now you've probably heard a little bit about Braid here or there - it seems impossible not to. After only a few days on the XBL Marketplace, Braid became the highest rated game on XBL Arcade, and entered the exclusive list of top 10 all-time highest rated games for the Xbox 360, which includes titles like Grand Theft Auto 4, Gears of War, and Bioshock.

While notable in itself, this is quite an accomplishment considering the game was made by only a small team of indie game designers and artists, on an infinitesimally smaller budget than any of the other AAA titles it's contending with.

So what's all the hoopla about? At the outset, it's simple enough - Braid is a 2D platform game where you traverse an assortment of levels to find and collect jigsaw pieces. Delve a bit deeper though, and the game quickly sets itself far apart from most other platformers you've played. Time, and the manipulation of it, plays an important role in the narrative of the story, and more importantly, how puzzles in the game are solved. Braid's development team went to great lengths to craft smart, unique levels that take advantage of this element of the game. Each chapter of levels offers a different take on the way time affects you and the environment, with each puzzle more devious than the last. And even though most of the puzzles seem to have only one or two possible solutions, each one will leave you with a feeling of deep satisfaction for solving it.

At this point, I could stop writing and you'd have a pretty good idea of why Braid is a good game, but I really feel that merely describing the game for its amazing technical presentation isn't fully doing it justice. There's a lot more to Braid than that. The entire presentation is mentally stimulating.

Braid's narrative, told through a handful of dialog boxes and books placed on a series of podiums before each level, tell the emotional story of the game's main character, Tim, and his troubles. The text in the game is well-written, and is in some ways, very touching.

Braid opens with what looks like a painted title screen. After a few moments, you realize that what you're looking at isn't really just a title screen - it's the actual game, and you can actually play it right from the start. I really liked the way the game opens without an interface, and I think it says a lot about how great the game's design is that you don't even need to access any menus until you're ready to leave.

The game's graphics (courtesy of David Hellman) are incredible though; I think I spent the first 20 minutes of the game just looking at the backdrops. Scenes that would look amazing as flattened artwork scroll with depth unimaginable, and everything in the foreground is gorgeous to boot. So much effort was put into making Braid a visual feast, it's almost impossible to imagine that time was spent to ensure the game was enjoyable as well. The soundtrack, licensed from some very talented people at Magnatune, is equally as good as the graphics, and wraps the game in an enchanting veil that lends credibility to the story and completes the presentation in a satisfying way.

I've been playing Braid over the last few days, taking small bites at a time, and trying to complete each puzzle I come across. Everything about the game is incredible, and though I've gotten to the point where some of the puzzles seem a bit on the hard side (or maybe I'm just not trying to do things the right way), I'm having a blast. The $15 price tag sounded steep before I tried the demo, but after only a few minutes of playing, I made the choice to buy.

Braid is the collective work of many people who obviously care about their craft, and this shows at every turn. I hope that the Braid team goes on to do create more unique games. This should serve as a lesson to the nay-sayers who cry that indie games don't have a place in the highly commercial world of video games. They do, and Braid proves it without missing a step.

If you've got an Xbox 360 (or if you can hold out for the PC version), buy Braid. It's an amazing game that deserves to be experienced by everyone.

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Raffle Results Are In!

Martin · 16 years

Thanks to everyone who entered the raffle to celebrate Marty Blog's 50th post, and congratulations to the winners, listed below! And no, that's not a picture of me up there.

Runners Up ($5 game via Steam): CoolGmrSms and Xxypher

Grand Prize (Team Fortress 2 or $20 equivalent via Steam): Xot

I will be contacting the winners via email. Hope to see you all around the site again soon, and thanks for helping to make this a successful raffle!

Marty Blog Big 50: Post & Win

Martin · 16 years

Well, it's finally happened - Marty Blog's 50th blog post is here! Not too shabby for a project that sprang to life as a mere experiment to organize my thoughts on gaming, art, developing, and the rest of that fun stuff. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of Marty Blog so far, and I've got some neat stuff planned for the future, so I hope that you'll join me as I add more content and features to the growing pile o' stuff here.

To help celebrate the continuation of Marty Blog, and to give back to everyone who's helped make the blog fun for me, I've put together a little raffle - which I've dubbed Post & Win!

What can you win?

The grand prize for the raffle is a brand new (digital) copy of Valve's über fun frag-fest Team Fortress 2!

If you've already got a copy of TF2, or if it's not really your thing, I'll also let you sub in any other single game of equal or lesser value that's currently on Steam.

Additionally, two runners-up will be able to choose from any single game currently on Steam for $5 or less. This includes such classics as Commander Keen, Day of Defeat, and Silent Hunter III.

How do you enter?

Simply post a comment below (make sure to enter an email address I can contact you with in the appropriate area of the comment form) and tell me what you think about Marty Blog. Suggestions, criticism, and long manifestos of support and encouragement are welcome!

Your name will only be entered into the raffle once, no matter how many comments you leave, and registered users of the site who comment will have a slightly higher chance of being chosen.

Entrants must have a Steam account or must be willing to register for one if they win. Steam is free, it's a great service, and I am happy to promote it. If you win and I am unable to award you your prize within a reasonable amount of time, the item will be re-raffled. Apologies to anyone who lives outside of the U.S. or who doesn't have access to Steam or its catalog of games.

Attempts at entering your name into the raffle more than once (or any other kind of cheating) will result in your name, and all aliases thought to be associated with you, removed from the drawing. And of course, Marty Blog reserves all rights to make the final decision on the validity of any entry.

Entries close at the end of the weekend - Sunday, August 3rd at 11:59 PM PST - so be sure to make your comment before then! Winners will be announced the following day.

Thanks again to everyone out there who reads Marty Blog now and then. I truly appreciate your visits to this site, and I hope that the site remains fun and enjoyable to you as we move into the future!

Sad times are here again as the weekend draws to a close and the usual grind picks up again with a week full of work looming ahead. I didn't get a whole heck of a lot done this weekend, but as always, I managed to have some fun, so here I am to share my adventures.

Game Maker Robot AI Programming Competition

Though I haven't had as much time to work on this program as I'd like so far, I have made some decent progress on getting the engine ready for a new contest. First proposed a few days ago on the Reflect Games forums, I'm hoping the new robot AI programming comp proves to be a more fun replacement for the old, more involved contests.

The idea is that I will create a base application which everyone can download and play with - essentially just a room from top-down view, and a simple "robot" object - and anyone wanting to participate in the contest will write an AI for the robot that will compete against others' creations. Movement and attack variables/objects will be the same across all entries (I'll be coding those in scripts), and once everyone's AI script is finished, we'll draw up a tournament tree, I'll have the bots compete, and then record the results and broadcast them, via either YouTube or some kind of live Podcast.

One of the goals of the new competition format is to encourage creative coding without forcing entrants to commit to an entire game, which can be both difficult and frustrating at times. I think that with an AI programming tournament, people will have more opportunity to show off good coding without being bogged down by the need for other assets, they'll have a more interesting method of feedback (watching their bot compete with another, as opposed to a "secret" judging), and expansion of the competition can evolve more naturally - if the contest proves to be fun and engaging, we can add more weapons to the bots' arsenal, more customization, etc.

Though it's taking me a long time to get things rolling, I'm very excited about this project. We've already got lots of feedback about how this competition should work - be sure to visit the Reflect Games forums to voice your opinion too!

World of Warcraft MVP

Over the last few days, I've managed to grind my way to Exalted status with two (more) factions, the Shattered Sun Offensive, and the Kurenai, netting myself a new title, some sweet additions to my gear, and a new mount that I'll probably never use.

Gaining exalted with SSO, even without visiting any instances, is pretty easy - it only took me a few days, and I only had to visit the Isle of Quel'Danas and complete all the daily quests there a handful of times. I liked the variation and overlap in the quests there though, and going from that back to grinding the other factions' reputation was a pretty rough transition. By contrast, the only quest I could take in Nagrand to gain Kurenai rep was the repeatable Obsidian Warbeads quest, which meant enduring the monotony of killing hundreds of ogres. Not exactly my cup of tea, and I will probably be looking for different quests when I start my quest for Consortium rep... even if it just means a simple change in scenery.

One good thing about grinding in Nagrand however, is that I was able to pick up a lot of mining nodes that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I've now got a mining bag (20 slots) almost full of stacks of Fel Iron Ore and Adamantite Ore - which I'm not sure what I should do with yet. Selling at the auction house will net me a huge sum of gold, but my blacksmithing skill is only at 300, so it might just be better spent on leveling.

My chances for scoring some decent raiding increased significantly last week as well, as I was inducted quite unceremoniously into Encore, an awesome guild which a few friends from college are pretty well-entrenched in. Though I'm not always up for 5-6 hours of raiding, the occasional run through the higher-level dungeons should be new and fun.

Ubuntu Test Drive

Though I've played with the live CD version of Ubuntu before, I finally took the plunge this weekend. I dug an old hard drive out of the closet, popped it into my older computer, and installed it. I've taken some time to play around with it this weekend, and I've mostly enjoyed my time with it.

Downloading Ubuntu and installing it was a piece of cake. All you have to do is get on the official site, download the CD image, burn it, pop it in the preferred computer, and boot from it. The live CD will load Ubuntu just like it would from the hard drive (a bit slower, of course), and once you're in the OS and you've played around with it, you can choose to install directly from a link on the desktop. The only confusion I had during this process was with which file system I should format the drive, but after doing some quick research, I settled on ext3, which seems to be holding up just fine.

So far, I am impressed with Linux. Though I couldn't see myself switching over to it for good, I like many things about it, and I will probably continue to tinker with it. The customization Gnome/Compiz provide is great, and being able to move around virtually every button on the desktop is just plain awesome. The extra effects you can perform with capable hardware are not only fun to look at - they are often genuinely useful. And although there are a few bits of oddness here and there, the OS feels mostly cohesive and with a few more generations of work, I think it really could rival the quality of similar Unix-based OS's, like Mac OS.

Another thing I am particularly fond of is that fact that Ubuntu comes with just about everything you need pre-installed. From the "Faux-toshop" (yes, I made that up), GIMP to the entire suite of OpenOffice.org tools, there's really not much aside from games that need to be installed after loading up Ubuntu for the first time. And of course, that's where the problem lies.

Ubuntu has an impressive number of built-in games, like Solitaire, Blackjack, etc. but if you're like me, you want more meat on your games. Unfortunately, not many games are currently being written with a native port of Linux in mind. There are options available however, like WINE, which can run Windows applications nicely, and can even throw around a growing list of games (it ran my installation of Guild Wars flawlessly, if only a tiny bit slow).

But whatever - running my games in WINE is silly when I've got another hard drive in the same computer with Windows on it, so I'll be dual-booting my older computer on Windows and Ubuntu for now. I'm sure Linux will continue to be fun to play around with, or at least a good diversion from working on my projects and playing games.

Odds & Ends

Aside from all that stuff, I also got to spend a lot of time with my girlfriend, and we finally found some time to start researching home loans. Hopefully we end up qualifying for a decent loan, and we can find a nice place to live - I'm a little sick of the apartment life!

Oh, and it was also my brother's 24th birthday!

Anyway, it's about time I wrapped up this weekend wrap-up. Hopefully everyone else out there had a good weekend too. Thanks for reading!

The Trojan Browser

Martin · 16 years

I've mentioned this in a few other places around the internet, but up until tonight, I've gone mostly unaffected by it. I made every attempt to avoid it, and it was all in vain. Tonight, I was attacked by the Trojan browser, and I am angry about it.

It all started with a simple software update I've been putting off. About a week ago, iTunes complained about updating - but since I don't use it all that often, and I don't have or want an iPhone, I had no reason to update. I also hate it when Quicktime installs with iTunes, and I have to go into the settings and disable the tray icon. So, I ignored the update, and the reminder didn't come back up for me until this afternoon.

I was in the middle of some gameage when it popped up, so I continued to play, ALT+TAB-ing back to Windows when I needed to. iTunes loaded, and told me I needed an upgrade. I clicked Okay, signalling my willingness to download said upgrade, and got back to my game. A second later, the Apple Software Update utility pops up, does a quick check, and informs me that it needs to be upgraded before my iTunes upgrade can go through. I probably should have just stopped here.

Instead of stopping though, I allowed the program to update, and after it got done, it told me I needed to restart my computer. I usually ignore these messages, because half the time they are complete lies, and continued on to check for updates to the software on my computer with it. It returned with two items on the software update list, Safari and iTunes/Quicktime. Oddly, both were defaulted to being checked for update. The problem? I don't have Safari installed on my computer, and I don't want it installed on my computer. But there it was, bold as brass, and ready to try to install itself on my computer.

I unchecked the box next to Safari and went ahead with the upgrade. 10 minutes later the package had finished downloading and began installing, and I was taken out of my game again for a warning from the Apple Software Update utility: the upgrade experienced some errors and could not continue. It needed to be performed again. I set it to do the upgrade dance again, got back to my game. A few minutes later, the same warning sound played, and I jumped back into windows. Sure enough, the same error message had appeared above the Apple Software Update utility. I took a brief moment to look at the program window more thoroughly; there didn't seem to be any way to find out more about what was causing this error. Typical Apple.

I told the update program to try again, went back to my game again, and got the same error again. Frustrated, I closed the Apple Software Update utility, re-opened it, and tried again. I made sure to uncheck the Safari install again. The program went about on its fourth attempt at downloading the update, and I got back to my gaming.

10 muntes later, some frantic hard drive activity cued to me that the upgrade had actually worked this time, and I ALT+TAB-ed back to Windows just to make sure. Everything appeared fine, iTunes was updating. Back to gaming for me.

An hour later I stopped playing games and finally closed out to inspect my newly upgraded iTunes installation, and clean up the usual mess that an Apple software upgrade makes on my machine. Imagine my surprise when I not only found three unwelcome icons on my desktop, but when one of them was a shiny little compass icon...

The Safari icon.

I know I unchecked it. I did it every time I attempted to install the iTunes upgrade. And yet there it was, laying right there on my desktop, taunting me in all its smug insolence.

I popped open the Control Panel and as quickly as possible, uninstalled that piece of crap.

Seriously - this is bullshit. A software updater should not sneak in an unwanted browser masquerading as a software upgrade. You should not have to "opt-out" of the Safari browser by unchecking the box for it. If the only Apple software I have installed on my computer is iTunes and Quicktime, then those are the only programs that should even have the possibility of appearing in the Apple Software Updater's list.

This is a sneaky, deceitful practice on Apple's behalf. It's a cheap way to try to shore up market share for an unnecessary piece of software, and it insults my intelligence that Apple would assume that I am too stupid to look over a list of software before installing it on my computer.

I've sung praise for Apple before, most notably for their excellent handling of a bad PR move involving South Park and iTunes, but this makes me regret that. It's pathetic to me that Apple acts so smug about how great their products are, all while trying to sneak some of them onto your computer through a Trojan Horse of their very own design. If your stuff is so great, you shouldn't need to silently drop it into a software update and hope nobody notices.

I'm pleased to announce that Team Wanderlust has finally unveiled a 'public' demo of Wanderlust: Rebirth, a game that many (myself included) feel is already one of the richest experiences crafted with Game Maker to date.

The game, a solo / online action RPG, represents a re-imagining of the original Wanderlust game, of sorts. Upon starting, players can choose from a handful of classes, and can level up their character with points as they progress through the game's chapters. Each chapter that is completed unlocks the next, and can be repeated again in order to obtain a higher rating, and earn more points.

Rebirth also features an intuitive dialog system, killer retro 16-bit style graphics, customizable controls, and of course, online play. Using the Reflect account system, or by connecting directly, players can join up with each other and play through chapters as a party of up to 4 players. The co-op gameplay is actually encouraged, as the game awards alternate scores for different group sizes, so if you want to complete the game in its entirety (and have some fun to boot), gather up some buddies and have at it!

I've really enjoyed watching this game as it is developed, and it's great to see it finally released to the public and finding a warm reception therein. A lot of work has been put into this game by just a handful of talented people, and I hope to see it finished in the time to come.

Matt, Rebirth's chief programmer, has also given me some great ideas to expand the functionality of Reflect as well - you'll see some of his suggestions come to fruition in future updates.

Anyway, I highly recommend you take the game for a test drive. I'm sure you'll agree with the growing consensus that the new Wanderlust is truly an epic game, with lots to do, and lots of rewards for both the casual and the dedicated alike.

Wanderlust: Rebirth's topic at the GMC can be found here, or you can download the game directly here.

Good show Team Wanderlust!

The Backlog

Martin · 16 years

Being as interested in games as I am, it's hard to keep from playing them. I do play quite a lot of games. And even though much of the time I spend playing games amounts to nothing so far as actual, tangible achievements go, I do consider at least some of the time spent useful as far as my knowledge of graphical effects and current gaming trends goes. I've got to stay on top of this gaming thing, after all, especially if I'm making games of my own!

The trouble is, I've accumulated a pretty large backlog of games that need finishing, or some other attention of sorts. In order to help myself organize this list, I've posted each game on my to-do list below, along with a progress report. Read how behind I am!

Diablo 2

Status: Just started

Following Blizzard's recent announcement that Diablo 3 is in the works, I re-installed and began playing Diablo 2 for a little bit of nostalgia, and to bring myself more up to speed with the series. I'd played Diablo 2 before, but never got too far through it, and I figured that now would be a great time to pick it up again. It's an old game, so it loads and unloads fast enough to play casually whenever I want, and though the graphics are a bit dated (the resolution is locked at 800x600), it's still a lot of fun to play. The only problem is that the game is just as I remember it - incredibly addictive.

Just as long as I don't wear out my mouse with all the frantic clicking, I should be okay.

Grand Theft Auto 4

Status: Somewhere around 30-40% complete

I'm not sure what happened with GTA4, but for some reason, I stopped playing it for a while. I think it was a combination of my re-ignited love for PC gaming, and running one to many failed missions that involved a lot of driving at the outset. Seriously, when I press the button on the in-game cell phone to retry the failed mission, I shouldn't have to drive all the way there again!

Team Fortress 2

Status: Need medic and pyro achievements

I've not spent as much time with TF2 as I've wanted over the last few months - I just haven't had time. Every time I pick the game up, I don't stop playing for 3-4 hours, and that's a hard chunk of time to try to fit into my busy schedule. As noted above, I need the achievements for medic and pyro, as I have yet to even try out any of the new weaponry. Hopefully I'll have some time one of these weekends to sit down and work through it all, without becoming hopelessly addicted again.

World of Warcraft

Status: Grinding for PVP gear/rep

I've hit the level 70 player cap, I've gotten my epic flying mount, and I'm guildless... what should I do? Play PVP battlegrounds for gear and grind enemies for reputation, of course! Fun sometimes, and boring the next, there's always something to do in WoW.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Status: Halfway through the final case

This one's almost finished - I just haven't had time to play it much lately. Looking at the list above, and taking the rest of my real life obligations into consideration, that's reasonable, right?

Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Status: About halfway through

I really like HL2 - I even pre-ordered Episode 2 and had it the moment it was released. And yet, as with so many other games, I started doing something else halfway into the game, and never got around to finishing it. This one should only take a few hours to do, and I really should just set aside some time and do it.

Mass Effect

Status: Finished multiple times, just want more achievements/gamer points

I'm an achievement whore, what do you expect?

So where do you stand on your games?  Got a lot of games that need some loving?

I'm proud to announce that Reflect Games has gained its 6000th member!

It's been a long journey for me, starting up Reflect, and working through a lot of ups and downs, fast times, and slow times. It's been a lot of fun, and I hope that it continues to be so as we push on into the future.

I've not had as much time to work on games recently, but I have worked on things slowly over the last few months. I've got a game in the works for the next YYG competition, and I still plan on finishing up some of my more undercooked projects at some point, and getting the site update for Reflect out eventually, too. I usually find time to visit the Reflect Games forums, to interact with the community and help people with their work, and I'm always interested in previewing projects people may want to utilize the Reflect system as well. As time goes on, I will have more time for creating things myself as well - I'm just doing a lot of commuting for work right now, and that has a habit of making my free time scarce.

In any case, this is a very happy time for the Reflect community and myself, and I hope that if you have not yet checked out Reflect Games, you will take this opportunity to do so. Many people have put a lot of hard work into making Reflect what it is today. It's a fun place to be, and I thank everyone for helping it continue to be that way.

I might be working on a special giveaway to commemorate this milestone as well - more on that later though. Thanks for reading!

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Team Fortress 2 – The Sniper

Martin · 16 years

In all my excitement over the Spore Creature Creator and trying to fit my game playing/creating time into the remainder of the day, I nearly forgot that Valve had announced a Team Fortress 2 update, along with the release of a new character vignette!

Meet the Sniper is another brilliant clip introducing the playable character classes from TF2, this time, quite obviously, for the sniper. The short video follows the sniper around his "workplace" as he guns down and machetes enemies, drives his truck, and...  talks on the phone with parents (who, by the sniper's own admittance, don't like his job).

The camping scene and the ending are also fantastic, but I won't ruin it for you - watch it for yourself, below.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, these videos are the result of a fantastic promotional campaign for Team Fortress 2 by Valve.  They shine with the kind of polish that can only be obtained via confidence and respect for one's work and considering how great of a game Team Fortress 2 is, and continues to be with each class update, Valve has a lot to be proud of.

I've yet to play the updated flame-thrower, but I'll be sure to report back here when I do.

And for one last note - don't forget to download Firefox 3 if you haven't already.  It's hardly been 24 hours since its launch, and the new browser has already been downloaded over 7 million times!  That number seems a bit bloated, but - wow!  Congratulations to Mozilla - there's no doubt their little browser is a big hit.