Chatting with a game designer friend the other day and we were bemoaning the state of adventure game puzzles and it got us talking. So I was wondering what is your favorite puzzle in Thimbleweed Park, Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island or any other classic point-and-click game?
Do you like head scratchers? What makes a puzzle good? What makes a puzzle hard? What makes a puzzle just busy work? Is that bad?
This series on Commodore’s Assemblers from pagetable.com is giving me flashbacks to hacking out GraphicsBASIC in my childhood bedroom. Good times.
I loved this game… all I want is for it to be on the Switch.
It is with great sadness that I found out that Judith Lucero passed away.
Judith was the lead tester on Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2 as well as a vast number of other Lucasfilm games.
She was the one who taught me the importance of testers and how they are a critical gear in the machinery that makes up making a game. Testers aren’t just unit tests in human form. They have a unique perspective on the game and poke not only at the bugs but also the design and the thought process of playing a game.
It’s a lesson I have never forgot and never will and I owe most of that to Judith.
Here is a email Judith and MI2 testers sent me. It goes on for 5 pages. Some of the suggestions were implemented.
“D” bugs were design bugs.
If Apple really cared about iOS privacy they would give the user to ability to block any app from reaching the internet. A lot of the iOS apps I used have no need to ping the internet but they all do to gather metrics and do who-knows-what.
Rather than create a complex and unenforceable privacy policy Apple should just let users block the app from using the internet. Or require a certificate to access the internet and don’t allow it if the fundamental use of the app isn’t to connect to the internet. There is no need for single player games to hit the internet all the time.
I use Little Snitch on the Mac and everything f**king program tries to connect to the internet. I block them all and only a handful fail so, yeah, they don’t need to.
If Apple really cared about my privacy they would do this.
For going on 17 years the Grumpy Gamer blog has been and always will be April Fools’ day free.
Stay strong.
Jason Snell is confusing pride with arrogance
I have largely given up on Apple. Once one of it’s stanchest supporters I no longer “believe” (I’m also rewatching X-Files). Apple has a massive disrespect for its customers. They cram things down our throats and call it “security”. P.S. I would use the word “control”.
The App Store is a f-ing mess. Filled with scams and crap but Apple chooses to come after legit devs for… for… I don’t know… but let’s cancel their accounts with no warning or recourse. Is it so hard to send an email?
My $160 Apple Airpods stopped connecting to my Mac. The error: “Can’t Connect”. Ok, so why! How about a little information! It’s due to arrogance. Apple products “just work” so there is no need for an error message.
For months now iPhotos won’t download new photos from the Photosteam? Why? No error. No information. I used to be able to click a button and import photos directly from the phone… that is now gone? Why? Because Apple products “just work”. Dear Apple: You suck at the cloud.
My next phone won’t be a iPhone.
Apple has locked down the Mac is such hamfisted way that it’s getting hard to be a developer (let alone a user) on the Mac. Admit that your heart was in the right place but you botched the implementation of the sandbox and come up with some that protects people and also respects us. Ben Franklin’s quote works for operating systems just as well: “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
I’m really getting tried of Apple apologists who are basically the MAGA/Fox News equivalents for Apple. Any criticism is quickly countered with praise or excuses. Any critique of Apple is followed with awe over some new product. Apple is never going to fix #1 if you keep praising #2. Why would they?
Please explain to me why the wealthiest company in the world still has the same open bugs year after year after year. Hire some more programmers… it’s not rocket science.
My day-to-day home use as moved to Linux… but Linux is also a mess. Why isn’t there a good high quality IDE for C++ on Linux? I’ve tried them all… WTF. Just be as good as Xcode or VS (it’s not a high bar).
This might be good time to give up on computers. Cabin in the woods, scruffy beard, flannel shirt. Bonus points if my new best friend is a grizzly bear.
P.S. I promise my next post will be about Lego. That is assuming Lego doesn’t add DRM… you know… for my protection
Farside image removed due to DCMA takedown notice*
Making progress. I expected to be farther along but New Years has taken more time away than I wanted and tomorrow it’s back to work.
This thing is way over engineered. Lost of small sub-pieces like this:
But the more I put it together the more I realize that it’s actually engineered for “fun”. The whole thing could have been constructed a lot simpler, look just as good (most of what I’m building is completely hidden) but wouldn’t be as much fun to put together.
I also wonder if there was some Lego marketing person pushing the designers to “add more pieces” so they could cross 9000.
I’m done with box I, starting box II.
