Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on January 31st, 2010 in Console Video Games, MainFor eight years now, Susan has been waiting on (at least) one kid hand and foot — and, since 2005, she’s been waiting on two. (Some would say three.) Whether it’s cooking or doing laundry or cleaning up buckets of puke (last night’s gift from Morgan), Susan spends the vast majority of her free time working for the kids. I thought this was pretty funny, until it started happening to me. My jobs are admittedly different than Susan’s. While Susan is folding clothes or putting away groceries, I do “dad” duties like wrestle, or find movies for the kids to… (read more)
The Programmer of the Year Award (an award I just made up) goes to Arthur Krewat. To understand what Arthur’s doing, why he’s doing it, and why he deserves the Programmer of the Year Award, I need to first tell you about an old computer game called Impossible Mission. Impossible Mission was a game released for the Commodore 64 by Epyx in 1984. In the game, players control a secret agent who has invaded Professor Elvin Atombender’s secret lair. The lair is guarded by robots that can zap you with electricity and, on some levels, a floating black ball that… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on August 31st, 2009 in Console Video Games, MainImagine for a moment that every time you bought a new computer, none of your old programs would run on it. This is the problem that Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony face each time they release a new generation of video game consoles. It’s hard enough for many people to justify spending anywhere from $300 to $600 on a new game console, but if you tell them that the new machine won’t play any of their old games they’re liable to walk away from the deal. That’s why “backwards compatibility” is such a selling point for consoles. For the record, backwards… (read more)
The second annual Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo (OEGE) took place Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at Oklahoma City Community College. OEGE was actually a weekend-long event for me, as out-of-town friends of mine began trickling in Friday afternoon. Not to be confused with the similarly named Oklahoma Video Game Expo (OVGE), OEGE is organized and thrown by a local college club/group. While the focus of OVGE is (mostly retro) video games, the theme of OEGE is a little more difficult to discern. It’s definitely different than your run-of-the-mill gaming convention; it’s more like a trade show. The focus really wasn’t on… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on February 12th, 2009 in Console Video Games“Home” for the PlayStation 3 is essentially Sony’s version of Second Life. Home is a pseudo “virtual reality” environment that allows PS3 owners to create a unique avatar, walk around virtual “places”, and interact with fellow PS3 owners. Over the past 25 years, keyboards and mice have become the defacto interface devices for computers. With a mouse, computer users are able to select and control programs by pointing and clicking; additionally, through the use of a keyboard, computer users are able to input information by typing. A long existing dream, however, is that there must be a better way to… (read more)
Even though I still consider myself a gadget guy, I’m not the early adopter I once was. Back in the pre-M and M (Mason and Morgan) years, I kept a steady stream of new electronic devices flowing through the house. That stream has slowed a bit over the past few years, and these days I try to not buy every single new electronic gadget that comes along, instead saving my cash for the ones I really want. One such device was the recently announced Pandora. The Pandora was/is an open source hand held gaming system, announced last summer. It was… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on December 23rd, 2008 in Console Video Games, MainMason’s officially on Christmas Break, which unfortunately just means he goes to daycare instead of going to school. He doesn’t mind; it’s like a mini-reunion up there with all his old daycare friends. One of his friends has been bringing their Nintendo Wii to daycare this week, and apparently Mason promised to bring Rock Band for everyone to play. When I was informed of his little plan last night, I said no way. I don’t need two dozen kids beating on our drums, breaking my guitars and dropping my microphone. Of course this caused Mason to completely melt down and… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on December 9th, 2008 in Console Video Games, MainWhile there certainly were first-person maze games that preceded it, Wolfenstein 3D will always be remembered as the game that introduced the “first person shooter” genre to the masses. Even though the game has been copied hundreds if not thousands of times, Wolfenstein laid the ground rules for the genre. Likewise, while musical rhythm games have existed in one fashion or another for some time (Guitar Freaks predates it), it was Guitar Hero that took plastic bongos and maracas out of players’ hands and handed them their first plastic six-string (albeit, without strings). While the Guitar Hero franchise turned a… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on December 1st, 2008 in Console Video Games, Main(This is a long entry that talks about videogames. You have been warned.) I started collecting Sega Genesis games back in 2003, shortly after stumbling across the Digital Press website and attending the first Oklahoma Videogame Expo. Those two events drug me into the world of what people refer to as “retrogaming.” By definition a retrogamer is a person who plays, enjoys and typically collects “old” games. There are two basic groups of retrogamers — those who discover old games and systems, and those who bought them when they were new and never let go of them. I’m definitely a… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on August 5th, 2008 in Console Video Games, MainThis past weekend at Penn Square mall, Nintendo had a display of twenty Nintendo Wii kiosks demonstrating Wii Fit. For my non-gaming readers, Wii Fit is a pressure-sensitive accessory for the Nintendo Wii that looks a lot like a bathroom scale. While standing on it, gamers can shift their weight and control videogames. When I stand on it, it says things like, “get off me fatty.” Wii Fit comes with a variety of games that fall into four categories; Yoga, exercise, exercise games and balance games. The twenty Wii kiosks were being manned about twenty college cheerleaders, with the biggest… (read more)
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