Dedicated to my late brave, beautiful and silly mummy, Debra Ross. I love you mumster.

Skip navigation

Category archive for gaming

Because archives are so much easier than having just hundreds of posts on the home page. I learned that the hard way.

My suspension of disbelief was DOA

I’ll be elaborating more on what I mean by this on the Rubenerd Show, stay tuned. Get it? Stay tuned? It’s an internet radio show? A podcast? Stay… tuned? Hey, I thought it was funny.

For some reason, I’ve always found it harder than most people to suspend disbelief in stories, games and the like. If I read, hear or see something that’s impossible, stupid or unreasonable… it frustrates the hell out of me.

Suspension of disbelief refers to the willingness of a person to accept as true the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief

Case in point, I was browsing a game website to see if anyone had more information about Knetwalk when I saw a screenshot from one of those now infamous Dead or Alive games:

Ayane from Dead or Alive

I ask you this right now: why on Earth is she wearing a denim bra, with pockets sewn on it? It makes absolutely… no… friggen… sense! I’ve heard from so many girls about how uncomfortable these contraptions are, so why would you make one out of denim? And put pockets on it? What could you put in those pockets? A mobile phone? An Objective-C Pocket Reference book? I think not!

The suspension of disbelief that I’m apparently supposed to have with this game (ridiculously over-the-top buff men and tiny adolescent girls fighting on equal terms in ridiculous locations with gravity defying moves and super human injury sustaining abilities) is tenuous and irreconcilable enough in my mind as it is even without this blatant pandering to obsessive game players!

And here’s another example from the same game: why would someone in supposedly frigid weather be wearing a heavy, wooly jacket… with a miniskirt? What’s next, are we to believe in summer she walks down a boardwalk in a t-shirt and snow pants? Snow pants!?

It's cold, good thing I'm rugged up all over!
It’s cold, good thing I’m rugged up all over!

This makes absolutely… no… sense! Rarely is the question asked: when did computer games become so ridiculous? And I’m absolutely positive there are far more examples than this!

And while we’re talking about O’Reilly Pocket Reference books; don’t get me wrong I think they’re the greatest thing to happen to the computer reference book world and I can claim to own no less than 14 such tomes; but since when is a book which measures 18 by 11 centimetres pocket sized?

A Pocket Reference?
A Pocket Reference?

The Rubenerd Blog, always presenting important facts and issues relevant to consumer technology and computer software.

Kmahjongg and gingerbread at 0206am

He shoots…

Down to my last 2 tiles in Kmahjongg!

He scores!

Kmahjongg: You have won!

Don’t you love insomnia?

If you want to get yourself KMahjongg from the KDE project and you’re running FreeBSD or NetBSD, update your ports tree or pkgsrc and make install clean in the kdegames3 subdirectory in the… wait for it… games directory.

If you installed the entire KDE system from scratch, or if you’re running PC-BSD, Kubuntu or another such system with KDE pre-installed, you’ve already got it in your Games KDE menu folder! Just don’t expect to get any work done with this game and any of the others that install along with it!

And now I’m off to bed. Just read on Twitter that Dave Wares is sitting at Costa Coffee having a Gingerbread latte and a biscotti. I’ll be having food related dreams again tonight. Is that normal? Ah but we all know how I hate to be normal right?

Oh and the desktop background on my FreeBSD desktop machine is Nodoka (the one on the far left, one of my favourite anime/manga characters!) and friends from Negima; I like having festive backgrounds at this time of the year you see :).

Nodoka and friends from Negima festive wallpaper

F1, Train Simulator and weekend fun

I have a lot to keep myself occupied this weekend, I’ve got several projects due in the not too distant future (aka: next week!) plus for a diversion when I need a quick break I got Train Simulator working again, plus the speculation about next year’s Singaporean Formula 1 race is pretty exciting. If I have time I’ll type up some stuff about it here.

Nintendo Wii Lah

Nintendo WiiThe Nindendo Wii (pronounced "wee") has a very unfortunate name doesn’t it? :D.

Anyway I love pulling apart stuff, so of course I’m always interested to see the latest photos when something new that has come to market has been pulled apart. Informit has an entire article on the dismanteling of the Wii.

I don’t buy game consoles; personally I think if you have a computer there’s no point getting a butchered computer that doesn’t have a keyboard, has to be hacked just to run normal software and is far slower and [mostly] not upgradable! However if I were to ever changed my mind, I would be getting the Wii over the PS3 or the Xbox 360. It looks sweeeeeet. I just wouldn’t tell anyone in Australia or the UK the name of it ;).

Apple I With Aftermarket Wooden Case!

Apple II’ve always wanted an Apple I: no Apple ]['s or Macintosh Classics for me, I want the real deal! Too bad this auction was 3 years ago now, this Apple I even comes in an original aftermarket wooden case:

The VCF is proud to be presenting an original Apple-1 computer up for auction from Friday, February 21 through Sunday, February 23, 2003.

This computer is complete, in its original after-market wooden enclosure, featuring a keyboard and power supply integrated into one unit. The lot features:

  • "Apple Computer 1" Motherboard
  • Cassette Interface Board
  • Original (after-market) wooden enclosure
  • Original Datanetics keyboard (integrated into wooden enclosure)
  • Original power supply (integrated into wooden enclosure)

Sol Mania for Blackberry

Sol Mania for Blackberry

I love my Blackberry, its the best phone I have ever owned. Still I’ve always been a bit disenchanted with the built in BrickBreaker game for it: I’ve always been a strategy and card game kinda guy.

My thoughts have been answered :D

Sol Mania for Blackberry
$9.00

Play 16 of the most popular and challenging solitaire card games - FreeCell, Klondike, Spider, Pyramid, Golf, Pyramid Golf, Scorpion, Yukon, Spiderette, Canfield, Australian Patience, Will o the Wisp, Aces Up, Calculation, Towers and Minerva.

Island Labs: Sol Mania for Blackberry

Sonray Share Trading Game

I’ve officially entered into the Sonray Share Trading Game, it’s looks like a whole lot of fun. Its an Australian fantasy share trading game. I’m not sure how well I’ll do, I’m betting a lot on Telstra; they’ve gone so low all they can do is go up… I hope :D.

Register for the Sonray trading game commencing 18th September 2006

Prizes Weekly prizes will be awarded to the trader who achieves the greatest percentage gain each week, and the highest percentage gain for the first month will also be rewarded.

Win the grand prize of a $25,000 trading account with Sonray Capital Markets.

Simply fill in the below application, download the SonrayTrader2 and get familiar with it before the game commences!

Sonray Share Trading Game

Retro Computer Museum

This website is fascinating to look through if you’re intro retro consoles and home microcomputers. He’s got the Synclairs, Commodores, Apples, Ataris, Radio Shack machines… the list goes on, all with large, full colour photgraphs.

ComputerMuseum.50megs.com

Technorati Tags  , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RichardDawkins.net