Personal Blog

Crawfish and Fun

It’d been a rough time for me in terms of sudden and terrible vertigo that plagued me for most of the work week. This happened to me once before about 2 years ago, and it’s probably just a viral inner ear infection or something, but I was out flat for most of the week.

Today it was mild enough that it didn’t interfere much with our adventure to the Long Beach Crawfish Festival! This was my second year for the festival, and it was tasty as ever with good music and an amiable crowd. I didn’t actually partake in the crawfish feast this year (those little crustaceans are too much work for the sustenance they provide), but I did hit up the booths for some jambalaya and bratwurst.

We also waited in the longest line ever for beignets, but to their credit, they were pretty tasty.

Hoping for a reprise of last year’s festivities, we walked over to the nearby arcade only to find it had been shut down. How depressing! No worries, though, for we all ventured over to Josue’s place to partake in some good old fashioned 4 player split screen Halo 1.

It was a blast! For a bit there I was back in my junior year of undergrad, in Rodes 2, pistol sniping (and regular sniping) an jaunting about Hang ’em High and Blood Gulch and running my Halo mouth just like old times. That game holds up incredibly well 🙂

It would seem that most shooters these days don’t support 4 player split screen, often because of the decrease in visual quality (we can’t have poor visual quality on our beautiful next gen games! It would be SCANDALOUS. I was not a fan of the original Goldeneye, but kudos to them for supporting it) or because it’s just not possible given how much the game squeezes the console. What was so common in the past has become rare in the hopes that “everyone plays online now.”

This, in my opinion, is a damned shame.

In addition to my platformer that uses Rock Band peripherals, the next game on the list of “Lisa’s To-Do Indie Game” list will be the ugliest freakin shooter known to man, made explicitly for the 4 player split screen experience.

But! Enough sighing for the lost past. There is WoWing to do and StarCraft to squeeze in at lunchtime and board games to play and D&D sessions to be run and Indie Picks of the Week to play through. Adventure!

Personal Blog

Thoughts on Home

One of my secret guilty pleasures is managing my monthly budget, which, I suppose there could be worse guilty pleasures. This month I hit my savings goal to get home for Christmas, so I can now start planning that trip.

It’s tricky to plan so far ahead, since I haven’t even done my first trip home slated for October, and since it’s inconvenient for most friends in the area to know what they’re going to be doing 5 months from now.

Last year I doubled up and went home to Louisville for Christmas and then to Pittsburgh for New Year’s, which ended up being a fantastic trip. This year I’m less certain of my plots, especially since I’m already worried about who’s going to catsit for Mr. Davis in October, let alone for 2 weeks in December when most everyone I know in LA will be out of town anyway (and I’ll need a fishsitter then, too)

I’ll figure it out eventually, I’m sure, but in the meantime, here’s a list of things that I miss about Kentucky:

1) Lightning bugs, as was previously established (thank you Eric for the video)
2) Thunder storms, even though they cause me pain. There’s nothing quite so soothing as napping safely inside while it’s storming outside. Except for the pain part, that is.
3) The smell of season transitions, which we don’t really get out here.
4) The greenness, which is something that Josh observed when he flew out to drive me across the country, and which I didn’t really understand at the time. Now that I’ve been in the desert-pretending-not-to-be that is LA for a year, I understand completely.
5) Katydids and tree frogs at night in the summertime
6) Autumn and trees changing color
7) Cardinals, pileated woodpeckers, and robins (there are supposed to be robins out here, but I’ve not seen any)

Personal Blog

Plumplings

As mentioned on Twitter, I used plums from today’s CSA delivery to make dumpling-like pastries, thus called plumplings.

I essentially just used this tasty recipe for plum pie, only halved.

Instead of the pie crust, I split the dough into 12 balls, flattened each, put them in muffin tins, filled each with the filling, and sealed it up at the top.

They are nothing to write home about, presentation-wise, but MAN they are tasty!

Personal Blog

Out and About

I feel like my life as of late has been rich and full, like a giant chocolate cake. The days and nights outside of work have been filling up with new experiences and adventures and time spent with various friends in varied circles.

Today, Josh, Nick, Nathan, Ben and I set out to the Renegade Craft Fair, which was fantastic. There was a huge variety of local and touring craftsfolk selling their wares.

One interesting thing about it was that every booth was incredibly unique in its ware, be it the style or the craft itself or some clever idea or twist. However, when you have a huge collection of things and every one is unique, it creates a weird, noisy effect that’s hard to digest. You can’t really easy group or categorize things, and my overall impression of the festival was “loud,” but not in terms of audio.

There was great stuff, though! I helped myself to a crafted pocketwatch, a wallet made from photography, and a few homemade scented candles.

Pho was had for lunch and we set out for home and a brief nap. Afterwards, Rob, Carlos, and Carren came over to my place for a last minute pool party, grillin, and games. It’s crazy that Carlos has been here for as long as he has and I’ve only gotten together with him but one other time!

We played The Great Dalmuti, Monty Python Fluxx*, and Give Me the Brain, and generally caught up and played about. When everyone departed, Nick and I closed off the evening by taking Mr. Davis on a late-night walk.

For the moment I’m content to chillax here and blog on the couch with a Nick at my feet and a DJ Hero-ing Nathan at my side. Socializing and adventures are all fun and healthy, but I feel like tomorrow is going to be the laziest of days.

*Note, the Monty Python theming still didn’t help Fluxx win my heart. It’s just that the game has no pacing whatsoever by its very nature. I know some people love it, but I don’t think I ever will.

Personal Blog

Zucchini Chips

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Nick vetoed zucchini from the stew we made last night, so I improvised this recipe. Fortunately, Nathan likes zucchini, so they got eaten up.

Ingredients
– 1 egg
– olive oil
– pepper
– coriander
– ground ginger
– thyme
– sliced zucchini
– sea salt

Combine egg, oil, and spices/herbs in a bowl. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet (if you have previously browned beef in said skillet so there’s leftover beef goo, all the better). Dredge the zucchini slices through the egg mixture and cook them a few minutes each side on the skillet. Sprinkle with salt and let cool. Nom.

Today’s CSA delivery included plums and nectarines, which I will use for a pie. It also included radishes. What am I going to make with radishes?? (Other veggies included: white corn, carrots, tomatoes, more zucchini, and lettuce. Suggestions welcome)

Games and Game Development, Personal Blog

New laptop in my future

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I’m contemplating a new laptop. My little Fujitsu tablet gets the job done, but with Starcraft II and WoW Cataclysm on the horizon, and my grumpiness at not being able to use UDK, it may be time to move on.

I got my tablet for grad school, and used it and its tablet feature to death all throughout. I do draw with it occasionally now and again, but I don’t think I’m in the market for a tablet PC in the future.

Nor do I want a desktop. Getting rid of my desktop towards the end of grad school was incredibly liberating, and the thought of getting another one and all the baggage it brings along is exhausting (baggage being monitors, speakers, a desk, a chair, etc…)

I am looking for a laptop:
– with a dedicated video card
– on which I’m able to enjoy the highest graphics settings in WoW and still get a good framerate
– used primarily for gaming and development, but not an actual gaming rig
– reasonably affordable

I do not want a mac (sorry, Eric)

Shopping around Newegg, something like this seems up my alley, though I’ve never heard of ZT before. The reviews seem good, all the same, and with having to buy Windows 7 on top of it, it would put me in the $1000 range.

Honestly, though, by the time I save up the money, there will probably be something else better on the market for about the same price.

Input desired. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Musings on Game Design

The games I’d make

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My team just finished hitting an intense deadline at the end of June, and I’m finally winding back down to a normal pace. As such, I’ve been thinking a lot about games and that question that every game designer gets asked…

“If you could make any game you wanted, what would it be?”

I’ve been asked that a fair amount recently, and I’ve always responded with “I have to think about it,” not as a dodge but just because I really did have to think about it. I spent the better part of 2 months pondering the matter, and have finally come up with my response.

Response below…

Personal Blog

Walking Mr. Davis

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As most of you know (and occasionally doubt my sanity for), I walk my cat on a regular basis. It only took about a week to train him on the harness, and now we go out pretty much every day.
From Walking Mr. Davis

It’s forced me to learn how to relax my brain in new ways. Before I had Mr. Davis, when I came home from work I would usually crash right away, occasionally sleeping the night through. Now, I have to force myself to stay awake long enough to take him out.

Walking a cat is not like walking a dog. It’s more of an amble, really. The cat just wanders about and sniffs here or there, and you follow along, and if he ever starts to go someplace you don’t want him to (under the hedge, perhaps), you just let the lead go taught.

It gives me a lot of time to still my brain, and I think it’s probably good for me. It’s definitely good for Mr. Davis! I don’t know if it really gives him more exercise, but it certainly gives him more intellectual stimulation. That’s important for cats – a bored cat is generally trouble.

More photos!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lisa.deanne.brown/WalkingMrDavis#

Personal Blog

Some Kind of Soup

I recently joined a CSA, as incentive to eat more vegetables. So far the routine goes like this: The vegetables arrive, I hunt around for recipes using those ingredients, Nick comes over and we cook up something experimental, we take it back and feed it to Nathan, success of the experiment is gauged.

This week we made Some Kind of Soup, which is mostly my own concoction after perusing a bunch of recipes and getting ideas. It turned out pretty tasty!

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
carrots, chopped
bunch of swiss chard, stalks and leaves, chopped
1 head of cabbage, shredded
2 cobs worth of white corn
2 cups lentils
7 cups pork stock (I used this because I have a ton in the freezer, it gives the soup a pretty distinct taste)
thyme
bay leaf
cumin
salt and pepper

1) Heat some olive oil in a large pot. Saute the onions and garlic
2) Add the carrots, chard stalks, and corn and cook a bit
3) Add the chard leaves and cabbage
4) Add pork stock and bring to a slow boil
5) Add lentils and stir up. Add water if necessary to cover
6) Throw in seasonings to your liking.
7) reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes
8) Taste and adjust spices as you like

Enjoy! It’s particularly tasty with sourdough bread dipped into the soup.

After eating it, I felt the urge to eat chocolate or ice cream to counter the healthy, but I ended up just falling asleep instead.

Personal Blog

Osaka Adventure – Day 6

Well, the trip is winding down to a close, and just in time (I think I’m just about out of fuel). We spent the day at a nearby amusement park that JC was jonesin’ to go to. The rides were pretty tame, but the company was good, so it made for a fun day. Managed to sneak in another nikuman for dinner, so I’d call it a day well spent just for that!

I’ve had a fantastic time here. We pretty much nailed every kind of experience I wanted to hit in the short week I was here, and I am extremely grateful to Scott and his friends for hosting me. Thanks, you guys!

Tomorrow we’re going to chill out in Osaka before I have to go to the airport, maybe hit up an arcade or two. Who can say! Anyway, that about wraps it up.

Hooray for Japan!

Game Designer