So, sounds like Fantastic Contraption is finally settled into InXile’s hands. I was about to say it was humming along on the new server but it’s timing out for me right now. :/ So, uh, it’s in their hands anyway. I hope that soon Colin can stop worrying about it all day and focus on something new. Has he shown you Flock it to Me? Ask him about Flock it to Me.

Meanwhile we’ve been adding all sorts of new stuffs to Whirled this month; if you haven’t tried it yet you should come check it out. The DeviantART contest winners have been announced, and they’re pretty inspiring; it’s so wonderful to see people doing things in Whirled that I’d never thought of before. My game Laws and Disorder now has a single player mode, and I’ve started working on another that I hope to make some progress with over the Thanksgiving weekend. Yes, this has been a bit of a blatant attempt to test the affiliates system. Sign up through these links and I’ll get 30% of any money you ever spend! :D

Colin is a pirate… from the 80s
Originally uploaded by apes_abroad.

OOO had a Bling party to celebrate adding money (called ‘Bars’, which can be bought for ~ 9 cents USD) to Whirled. We’re also doing some exciting contests which have generated a little media attention and swathes of new visitors to the site which has been fun to watch. The bling party was a ton of fun, and I got to take my soon-to-be wedding dress on a trial run. My first corset ever, so sexy and comfortable! Ladies, you need to check out Damsel in this Dress and get yourself one. :D

This morning we attended a Proposition 8 protest rally which was energizing but not totally directing. Some speakers talked about love and the importance of accepting people of faith into the movement, others emphasized the fact that this was an amendment based on hatred and pointed fingers at the Mormon church, whose members were the primary funders of the Yes campaign. The Yes advertisements focused heavily on the impact it would have on our children. Particularly, people seemed to be worried about “confusing” their kids by teaching them about LGBT. And we wonder why education is so terrible in the US: I guess math and science could “confuse” kids as well, let’s just take those out of the curriculum to protect the little darlings.

China town 21
Originally uploaded by january20th2009.

Last night we watched the election results roll in at the 21st amendment brewpub. There was much cheering and rejoicing when the westcoast polls closed and they immediately announced Obama as winner. There wasn’t much doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t win, but it was wonderful to see such a high voter turnout for such an important election, and to see him win by such a wide margin (TWICE the electoral votes).

But if all the young liberal kids finally came out to vote for Obama, it wasn’t enough in California. They passed Proposition 8, an amendment to the state constitution once again banning same-sex marriage in California. On the plus side they did just pass a $10 billion train from San Francisco to L.A. Maybe that’ll help spread our libral influence to all the curmudgonly folks down there who keep forcing their religious views on people they don’t know and will never meet.

The Stuff
Originally uploaded by apes_abroad.

Had a good Halloween this year. Colin and I both had costumes for the Three Rings potluck night, to which I contributed “The Stuff” fruit dip and deviled eyeballs. I think the effort spent on presentation outweighed the fact that I can’t cook, and for one reason or another people seemed genuinely frightened by the food I brought. I’m putting the leftover Stuff into milkshakes for Colin.

We spent Friday at a friend’s party in a fantastically decorated house. Our costumes this year were alright: I sewed ping pong balls to black clothes and went as a mocap person, and Colin was a pretty convincing post-apocalyptic space pirate. It’s the beard I think: it’s like he was meant to wear a pirate hat. I’ll post pictures when they come up.

Flywrench: great game or greatest game?

http://www.messhof.com/games/flywrench.php

Flywrench is a game by Mark Essen who also wrote one of my other favorite games: You Found the Grappling Hook

It is artistically sublime.

The music by Jordan Stone is among my favorite tracks to a game ever. Along with the writing and the graphical style this makes Flywrench a game that will reach into your head and caress your brain.

It has surprising depth. The existing levels barely scratch the surface of what’s possible, so the included level editor makes a ton of sense. There is a steepish learning curve but it feels really good learning to manouver and hurl the Flywrench through harder and more dynamic environs. By the end of the game you can feel the depths of possiblity open before you.

Mark Essen should really get this on xBox live and earn some cash off of it. It’s amazing.