ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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Ezlo wrote:
About the secret offer. Are we allowed to ask questions about it here? Or in e-mail?

Please ask questions about the secret offer through e-mail.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

jbluestein
Level: Smitemaster

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ErikH2000 wrote:
Games For Which a Computer is Not Needed
Before there were computers, people were still able to play games. Those games just weren't very good.[emphasis added]
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=11019

You wound me deeply!

____________________________
"Rings and knots of joy and grief, all interlaced and locking." --William Buck

ErikH2000
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jbluestein wrote:
You wound me deeply!

Well, come on, this is the pre-DROD era we're talking about here. How good could any of those games actually be? It's like comparing cave paintings to the Renaissance.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

jbluestein
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1670
Registered: 12-23-2005
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ErikH2000 wrote:

jbluestein wrote:
You wound me deeply!

Well, come on, this is the pre-DROD era we're talking about here. How good could any of those games actually be? It's like comparing cave paintings to the Renaissance.

-Erik

Well, it's my pre-DROD era perhaps, but plenty of these games (including some of the best) are quite contemporary. Several of my favorites -- Puerto Rico, Web of Power, and Caylus (to choose three popular examples from a very long list) are all published in the last five years.

Boardgames are about creating an enjoyable experience without depending on cutting-edge technology to wow people. They're still beautiful in their own way, but they're good because they make you think. (Hmmm...I wonder if I can use the above paragraph to describe anything else that I'm fond of? )

And if you don't believe me, come join me on SpielByWeb. Try it out!

Josh

____________________________
"Rings and knots of joy and grief, all interlaced and locking." --William Buck

UrAvgAzn
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 468
Registered: 04-15-2006
IP: Logged

I... I am... Wow. I'm in awe.
*speechless for about 2 minutes*
Whoa, okay. I'm better. Thank you so very much Erik and the DROD community, I just checked the forums. And then I noticed I had an extra 50 rank points and an extra 100 mod points. And I got a PM saying Erik has granted me my request on the Forum Hunter thread. And.. Thank you. I'm just letting this sink in.

Well, I'm glad Erik gave me a day of membership today, as I was in Maine yesterday, that would have been such a waste. Well, thanks again Erik.



Keep posting,

EDIT: WOOHOO! IT SUNK IN!
EDIT2: Beethro's Teacher...
EDIT3: Fixed smiley.

____________________________
"The leaf, still green, must someday fall.
Such grief, such joy, to live at all."
- T.A. Barron, The Lost Years of Merlin

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[Last edited by UrAvgAzn at 07-09-2006 10:28 PM]

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3672
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If he gets 50 mod points and 100 rank points for making a list, I have no idea how many I get for making a castle based upon a list.

____________________________
Quick links to my stuff (in case you forgot where it was):

jamie
Level: Smiter
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Great post Erik!

Banjooie wrote:
Well, Beethro /is/ very American. Listen to his accent.

Funny, I found that REALLY weird when playing JtRH for the first time.. In fact, all the accents didn't match the characters for me... I suppose I expected a country-neutral accent.

____________________________
#f3i2g# Disclaimer: I'm Welsh, left-handed, and stupid. #f3i2g#

ErikH2000
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jbluestein wrote:
Boardgames are about creating an enjoyable experience without depending on cutting-edge technology to wow people. They're still beautiful in their own way, but they're good because they make you think.

Let me see if I can be so over-the-top with my stupid opinion that it will finally be recognized as sarcasm...

Boardgames? Don't you mean BORED-games? There is no possible way that these things could be entertaining. Ever. No way. I hate them and everybody else should too. In fact, there should be legislation that requires all games be playable on computers. Kind of like we are making television broadcasting switch to high-definition. Get with the program, you freaking luddite!



(Okay, if that doesn't work, I will resort to painful sincerity. But you don't want that. It's just embarrassing.)

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
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IP: Logged

Chaco wrote:
If he gets 50 mod points and 100 rank points for making a list, I have no idea how many I get for making a castle based upon a list.

Don't blow it, man! The only way you can get these awards is by not asking for anything, and even then lots of deserving people will get left out. Go back and read the "Don't Ask and You Shall Receive" post if that doesn't make sense.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

UrAvgAzn
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 468
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Boardgames. Bored-games. Thats funny. Anyway, you've got to admit, some boardgames are very enjoyable. Except for Backgammon, that just annoys me. What amuses you Erik?

Keep posting,

____________________________
"The leaf, still green, must someday fall.
Such grief, such joy, to live at all."
- T.A. Barron, The Lost Years of Merlin

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3672
Registered: 10-06-2005
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Oops, I forgot. No wonder I don't get anything, I keep asking the Caravel team for canonical explanations and receive none!

-Chaco

____________________________
Quick links to my stuff (in case you forgot where it was):

jbluestein
Level: Smitemaster

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Registered: 12-23-2005
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ErikH2000 wrote:
Let me see if I can be so over-the-top with my stupid opinion that it will finally be recognized as sarcasm...

OK, it's true...I'm an idiot.

Nothing to see here, folks.

____________________________
"Rings and knots of joy and grief, all interlaced and locking." --William Buck

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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UrAvgAzn wrote:
Boardgames. Bored-games. Thats funny. Anyway, you've got to admit, some boardgames are very enjoyable. Except for Backgammon, that just annoys me. What amuses you Erik?

Yeah, I've got a list of tabletop/pen & paper games that I like. Some of those: Settlers of Cataan, RoboRally, Chess, Magic the Gathering, Red Dwarf RPG, Canasta.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

coppro
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1309
Registered: 11-24-2005
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ErikH2000 wrote:

UrAvgAzn wrote:
Boardgames. Bored-games. Thats funny. Anyway, you've got to admit, some boardgames are very enjoyable. Except for Backgammon, that just annoys me. What amuses you Erik?

Yeah, I've got a list of tabletop/pen & paper games that I like. Some of those: Settlers of Cataan, RoboRally, Chess, Magic the Gathering, Red Dwarf RPG, Canasta.

-Erik

I can vouch for at least 4 of those.

On a semi-related note: I was at the Coldsnap prerelease today. When it comes out, go buy a bunch of cards. The set is not as bad as the general lack of enthusiasm would make you beleive.

Unfortunately, Nintendo has been brainwashing my wallet into thinking otherwise.

DGM
Level: Master Delver
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ErikH2000 wrote:
And I guess what I really miss are his books, which somehow create this feeling of a friendly, witty guy talking directly to me about geeky things. An Adams' book is always good company.

Amen. British humour can be very hit-or-miss, but Adams was consistantly funny. "Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul" is one of my favorite two books ever, and is THE favorite in the humour genre.

If we put Arthur Dent up against the Rooted Empire he'd wander aimlessly through random situations mainly concerned about finding a proper cup of tea.

I could see it now. The Slayer's vehement desire to kill him causes Dent to mistake his opponent for Agrojag and an akward attempt to apologize for that whole "reincarnation-as-a-bowl-of-petunias-in-low-orbit thing" ensues, much to the Slayer's confusion...

Dave Lister would mainly just lay around drinking leafjuice and composing bad guitar songs.

Or: Rimmer smuggly asserts his invulnerability - much to the Slayer's fury - until Lister decides he's so sick of them both that he offers to trade a holo-whip for his life. Meanwhile, the Cat meets his equals in both intellect and backbone in the Goblins.

The only one interested in getting any actual work done is Kryten, who fiercely brandishes his mop and vows to clean every last bit of tar and mud out of this filthy disgrace of a dungeon...

* Smitemastery 101, a hold by Jacob Grinfeld that is designed for kids 8-12, and perhaps as a guilty pleasure for the genius who wants to give his overheating brain a break.

A legal question about this: even though I'll be getting this for myself (via CaravelNet download), is there anything wrong with setting someone else (like, say, my 9-year-old cousin) up to play this hold? If there's a legal issue here then you might want to consider releasing a demo version, because this sounds like it would be a great hold for introducing new players to the game.

____________________________
My gaming blog is at http://dungeon-games.com/blog/

---

[Last edited by DGM at 07-11-2006 02:57 AM]

eytanz
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DGM wrote:

ErikH2000 wrote:
And I guess what I really miss are his books, which somehow create this feeling of a friendly, witty guy talking directly to me about geeky things. An Adams' book is always good company.

Amen. British humour can be very hit-or-miss, but Adams was consistantly funny. "Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul" is one of my favorite two books ever, and is THE favorite in the humour genre.

It was consistently funny for a long time, but neither "Mostly Harmless" or the incomplete "Salmon of a Doubt" are particularly funny.



____________________________
I got my avatar back! Yay!

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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DGM wrote:
A legal question about this: even though I'll be getting this for myself (via CaravelNet download), is there anything wrong with setting someone else (like, say, my 9-year-old cousin) up to play this hold? If there's a legal issue here then you might want to consider releasing a demo version, because this sounds like it would be a great hold for introducing new players to the game.

DGM if your cousin or someone else is available to help test *Smitemastery 101*, please send me an e-mail, and I think we can work something out.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
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* A character is remarkably sane or intelligent in contrast to an entire world of flailing imbeciles.

This has been bugging me: it seems to me that the split's pretty much down the middle between British comedies where the main characters are completely loony or imbecilic. Now that I think of it, I think the split's pretty much the same in American comedy, so it couldn't really be called a property of British comedy so much.

____________________________
What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

DGM
Level: Master Delver
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ErikH2000 wrote:
DGM if your cousin or someone else is available to help test *Smitemastery 101*, please send me an e-mail, and I think we can work something out.

-Erik

There may be someone else (expect an e-mail shortly), but after watching her play "Viewtiful Joe" these past two nights I've decided she's not the puzzle-solving type after all. I'd end up having to walk her through anything more complicated than skewering a roach or two (or just playing it for her while she watched). I don't think I'll be introducing her to DROD, sadly.

That said, though, what I was really getting at with my previous post was having a hold that's especially suitable for introducing new players (of all ages and intellects) to the game. Can anyone name any good ones already out there among the free holds?

____________________________
My gaming blog is at http://dungeon-games.com/blog/

Niccus
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DGM wrote:]

There may be someone else (expect an e-mail shortly), but after watching her play "Viewtiful Joe" these past two nights I've decided she's not the puzzle-solving type after all. I'd end up having to walk her through anything more complicated than skewering a roach or two (or just playing it for her while she watched). I don't think I'll be introducing her to DROD, sadly.

I'm a Crash, Ratchet & Clank, and GTA series fan. I master the former two. I play SSBM when I visit my friend's house.

I'll admit that Viewtiful Joe is the farthest thing from DROD, but give it a try, won't you?

---

The Land of Sand is a nice easyish hold, but I don't think there's any good strictly introductory holds...

---

[Last edited by Niccus at 07-14-2006 12:04 AM]

DGM
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Niccus wrote:
I'll admit that Viewtiful Joe is the farthest thing from DROD, but give it a try, won't you?

I think you misunderstand. It's not that VJ and DROD are mutually exclusive and you're not allowed to enjoy both. Heck, I've enjoyed both.

The problem is her attitude. She's a very dependant person who doesn't like thinking or doing much for herself, and after watching her play these last few days I've decided that she hasn't grown out of it yet (which worries me a bit). She loves tearing through easy enemies that don't require much more than button-mashing, but anything more challenging (even a simple jumping puzzle) and she tries to get me or her father to beat it for her. Point out that she needs to practise and improve if she wants to play these games and she literally whines.

And I don't think she'd bother with any game much without someone there to watch or play with her (and do the hard parts for her). DROD would be no exception.

____________________________
My gaming blog is at http://dungeon-games.com/blog/

Alneyan
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Heh, are you talking about my own sister? I didn't know I had a cousin on the boards.

She is a bit on the same boat, in that she isn't terribly enamored with puzzle games (she did like room building, so that might lure her into the game). She will play some DROD here and there, or similar games, but will require someone to watch her and give the occasional nudge (solving the whole of a puzzle is seldom required, but a bit of a hint or making her go on playing helps a lot). Brute-forcing sometimes work for her too. So, having someone else around is more for companionship than any actual assistance; along the same lines, she dislikes playing strategy games alone against the computer.

Her biggest difficulty with DROD seems to be in the level of abstractions, though. I don't think she has grasped the concept of "movement", or how efficiency matters, and she certainly has a lot of trouble with roach movement rules (serpents are actually easier for her, since their behaviour appears pretty random until you know all the gritty details). That can be tricky when in rooms with more than a few roach queens and some roach manipulation.

Then again, I guess the difference between young folks in the way they play DROD is close to the one seen in older players. DROD would only attract a minority of adults, and some of the concepts might be hard to grasp for someone not particularly fond of puzzling games.

Syntax
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What a beautiful piece Yeah, kids in general want to play in company. And learning efficincy etc may take years, but it's a valuable life skill. I remember first playing Supaplex, Dungeon Master or Solomon's Key when I was 7, and how hard it was as everything used a little bit of "magic". Now, unfortunately, I have the ability to analyse, and those days of heady imaginative interaction have gone altogether. Back then, however, nothing made me happier than being praised by "an adult". I don't have kids but can't wait to watch my niece play DROD. I was the first to see her stand (and that's an amazing thing in itself) but appreciating beauty in logic is amazing in its own right. And watching someone grapple with new concepts - that's a time I want to be involved in.

AtkinsSJ
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 107
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* A character is remarkably sane or intelligent in contrast to an entire world of flailing imbeciles.

I am British, and I feel like that most of the time...

Douglas Adams have got to be my favourite authors, or at least second. Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines) is first, though there's just none of the humour.
It makes me crack-up thinking about the part in one of the Johnny books (Pratchett) when Wobbler is described roughly:
'Parts of Wobbler moved all over; in fact, it was only on average that he moved in any one direction.'
That's not the exact quote, because I can never find it.

Briareos
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AtkinsSJ wrote:
Douglas Adams have got to be my favourite authors, or at least second.

I think you mean "Douglas' Adams" - but I really don't remember there being two of them...

np: The Go Find - Over The Edge (Over The Edge vs. What I Want)

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

BeefontheBone
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That's not a plural apstrophe - no apostrophes do that. Your version is about the Adams belonging to Douglas. "Douglas Adamses" would probably be the best (and funniest) at pluralisation.

____________________________
Braindead's Mordor Site - Dungeon crawling having nothing whatsoever to do with LotR. Plus a freeware remake in-progress, featuring descriptive text written by yours truly!

Beef Row wrote: Actually, it doesn't really matter because the soap is a lye.

Briareos
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BeefontheBone wrote:
That's not a plural apstrophe - no apostrophes do that. Your version is about the Adams belonging to Douglas. "Douglas Adamses" would probably be the best (and funniest) at pluralisation.

Hey, it works for the singular, so why not for the plural?

At least it's proof that I can't be British either...

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

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[Last edited by Briareos at 07-17-2006 12:52 AM]

Jatopian
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ErikH2000 wrote:
UrAvgAzn is Surprisingly Respectable

I admit, I judge newcomers by their chosen handles.

So... what's mine say about me? Or do I really want to know?

____________________________
DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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Jatopian wrote:
So... what's mine say about me? Or do I really want to know?

Well, I don't like to make generalizations and promote stereotypes, but I'm sorry--a name like "Jatopian" has really obvious connotations.

From that handle, I think everyone here has made the guess that you own a tiny pink sewing machine, which you use to sew tiny little dresses for your pet hamster, Madam Wilmeninette. On better evenings, with the lady in proper attire, the two of you proudly scamper about the local mall food court in search of abandoned, half-eaten nachos.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Jason
Level: Smitemaster
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Registered: 05-05-2006
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Me?

____________________________
Play my holds?