TorqueL, the Rolling Box 2D Platformer

I originally posted this on April 18, 2013 on my blog on Gamasutra. Cross-posting here because this game looks great. It’s on Steam Greenlight Concepts with a demo available, and I urge you to check it out.

Overcrowding at BitSummit meant that in the short time we had for looking at game demos, there was no time to see them all. I did see quite a few, and while most of the games I saw interested me in one way or another, a simple platformer named TorqueL took first prize for being fun to play.

TorqueL’s concept is simple. The developer bills it as the 2D rolling box platformer, and that description basically sums up the game. The only thing that sets this game apart from other 2D platformers — and the only thing it needs — is that player movement has been completely rethought.

Poke

Another Ludum Dare has come around and once again I have participated. The theme this time was Minimalism, and I did not do as well this time as last time.

Granted, this time my game looks more like a game; it has graphics instead of a text interface. It’s easier to get into, since it’s short and simple.

It has one major flaw, though, and that is that I cannot build the code into something a non-programmer can play. This has been extremely frustrating.

So now I am going to go play and rate other people’s Ludum Dare entries. Maybe next weekend I’ll try using a different graphics engine and see if I can get that one to build. If I do, I’ll link the file here so everyone can try it.

Sims 3 Legacy Challenge Scorecard – New Link, Suspended Indefinitely

Greetings, all. It’s been a while since I made any mention of this thing. Last time I did so was in a response to a comment. 4shared now requires a signup to download the file; I said I would get it back on Google Drive and promptly forgot to do so. I have done so. The sheet is now available here. Hopefully the link will work for everyone.

That said, I have decided that I will never give EA my money again. I also plan to refuse any gifts of EA products. This means I will not be playing any more Sims games than the one I have, and the current version, 2.00 (good up through the Showtime expansion), is the last to come from me.

At some point, someone commented asking me for permission to update the spreadsheet since I wasn’t. I granted that permission, but have no link to share with you guys. If someone knows where to find the version being upkept by someone else, please tell me so I can spread the word.

PyroFalkon’s Sims 3 Socialism Challenge

My friend PyroFalkon is a huge fan of The Sims. He was the one who introduced me to the Legacy Challenge, which has taken over how I play The Sims. He has created a new challenge which he calls the Sims 3 Socialism Challenge and is currently beta testing it in Let’s Play form on his YouTube channel.

I’ve enjoyed watching it and since much of my blog traffic is drawn to my Legacy Challenge scorecard spreadsheet, maybe some of you will like the Socialism Challenge, too. Today I’ll talk about the rules PyroFalkon has set up and my thoughts on how things have gone so far.

Sims 3 Hiatus

I recently bought a shiny new Mac. This means a lot of the games I purchased through Steam, including The Sims 3, are not playable until I get my hands on a copy of Windows and set up dual boot through BootCamp. I contacted EA about getting my license changed from the PC version to the Mac version (because I’d rather run it natively), but since I didn’t purchase it through an “authorized distributor” they’re unwilling to help me.

My response: How is Steam not an authorized distributor?!

What it comes down to, basically, is that they want me to buy their products through Origin instead of Steam and refuse to support my purchase. I could call them any number of nasty names, but instead I’ll just refuse to buy a new copy of the game.

What that means for you guys is that there probably won’t be any more updates to my Legacy Challenge Spreadsheet for a while. I might see about getting info on new expansions from the Sims Wiki at some point, but for now I’m just going to lay low. Sorry!