LEFT 4 DEAD 4 REALZ

Ok, you all must have seen these all over the net. I ain't showing you anything new, I know that. But I just have to say two things about these road signs that hackers have been hacking into and messing with:

a- OH MY GOD! I fucking LOVE that we live in an age where someone can do this! This is so funny and so perfect! How damn funny!

b- The one that says, ""ZOMBIES IN AREA! RUN!" (which I have not seen, just heard about) is just about the funniest thing in the world to me. It's not enough that the sign lets you know the current area's zombie status, but it also gives you a helpful way of dealing with the zombies! The only thing funnier would be if someone actually above the age of 10 got scared of these signs and were all worried and shit (i.e. War of the Worlds broadcast back in the 20's?)...

David

BRUTAL COUPLA YEARS, EH CHARLIE?

Readers of the blog know how much I really dislike CRYSTAL SKULL and how crazy disappointed it made my inner geek. Nothing sums it up as good as this great fan (?) made trailer sent to me by long time blog reader and fellow game designer Arnaldo. Tragic man...just tragic. But hilarious as well.



ps. Yes I know it's just a movie and I should just stop whining already. Don't wanna. Indy is the main reason I do creative work today and to see him and his universe treated like this is not only annoying but really disappointing cause it probably means there will be no more Indy flicks. At least not any good ones.

pps. This directly relates to the work we do but I can't speak to how. And it has nothing to do with us working on an Indy game. I will tell you once the game we are working on hits the streets.

While My Tea Gently Steeps...

The entire house is sick.

I have Pink Eye. And I swear I didn't eat poo or have someone fart on my pillow or whatever it was that got those guys Pink Eye in KNOCKED UP.

My 3 year old has it and she gave it to me.

Now she may very well have eaten poo. She's done it before. She'll probably do it again.

And word on the street is, Pink Eye is very contagious. Hell, you may get it yourself just by reading this blog post.

Anyway, so I'm waiting for my cup of tea to steep, eager to gulp it down in my American McGee's Grimm mug that I got from GAMETAP last year (thanks Gametap)! It's a pretty neat mug that gives you the dark version of the fairy tail (not sure which one) when it's filled with hot water.

Also ran to Gamestop tonite to grab a few games I've been meaning to play for research. When you are sick, crashing on the couch and gaming is a great way to rest while not going stir crazy. Not sure what to think of LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST. I like aspects of it a lot. It's clearly a well made game with some very fun and very creative elements. And I was a fan of the movies so it's cool to get to play them online. But the success at the combat seems kind of random. Not sure if that is the combat system itself or if it's the nature of trying to process semi-speedy melee attacks with 15 other players online. Again, I do like the game. I think I will play it some more when I get the time. But I'm at that very dangerous point in a game where I'm searching for depth- now that the fun. visceral aspect has worn off- but where that depth is going to come from is not apparent.

Gameplay really is like layers of an onion. You need at least 2 layers to keep things interesting when you are talking pure game systems (shallow and medium). If you don't have that- GOD OF WAR did not- then you better have lots of variety to your level and mission designs to counter the shallowness of the system so you do not bore the player. Now I am not saying LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST is shallow. In fact, looking at the level designs, there's a sense that much thought has gone into the layouts in order to bring out some nice depth. But I'm at a point right now where the core play- the combat- is feeling like it needs to have something else to offer (or needs to have more technique that- once mastered- gives me the upper hand) because right now I walk up to an enemy and it totally feels like luck in regards to who is going to live and who is going to die. But like I said, gonna keep playing, at least a while longer, and see what surprises the game has in store.

Ok ya'll- gonna do some work and then hit the hay. Chat later-

David

Focus, Jaffe...FOCUS!

****UPDATE: Thanks tons to lb003g0676 over on my youtube channel for providing me with a new, cool, kick ass banner! I love it!

*******************




ps. TO THE TWO JACKET WINNERS- please comment on this post your email ONE MORE TIME? I am so sorry I've just been so swamped...gonna get those out this week I promise but I need your addresses and need your email so we can get your addresses from you....thanks for your understanding. David

SAH-WEET!

So some thoughts on this:

#1- Ok, the animation is way too cartoony for my tastes...if the visual style matched the cartoony CLONE WARS style, it would make great sense. But the art direction looks realistic while Indy animates all cartoony. Interesting choice, but based ONLY off my viewing this trailer a few times, I wish they would have committed to one direction or the other.

#2- Don't really care about it being canned for PS3 or 360. I have a Wii and I like my Wii and hey, if you are doing whipping action, better to use the Wi-mote, you know?

#3- The Indy franchise seems a bit slippery to get a strong handle on, you know? I mean, little kids of today are not Indy nuts (as the poor toy sales from Crystal Skull proves) so is Wii the best place for this game? I mean, dads and moms have the Wii too so maybe it's a smart choice; make something that connects with the moms and dads in the Wii crowd, something that connects with their generation. And the thing is, Indy- as a brand itself- has never been as popular as the kind of stuff that connects head on with the 360 and PS3 core audience...so perhaps it's a pretty wise move.

Either way- I AM SO STOKED! I LOVE Indy and will play ANY Indy game there is. I played Emperor's Tomb on my XBOX and while it was very rough around the edges, I still really dug it. So yeah, I'm really jazzed about this.

Love the way the trailer is put together with the whole transition gimmick. Love the variety of locations as well.

Totally jazzed. Be there on day 1. Thanks Lucasarts for keeping my boyhood hero alive and kicking!

David

EAT SLEEP PLAY JACKET CONTEST WINNERS

Hey ya'll- We will send those out Monday of next week Fed Ex. Sorry about that. We've just been so caught up with this greenlite meeting that we just have not had the time to do anything else. We'll take care of it first think Monday- I am sorry about that. Totally my fault. Thanks for understanding.

David

FOCUS GROUP NITE 2

YES WE CAN...HAVE BED HEAD! :)

Focus Testing the New Game

Hey Kotaku? Yeah, you!

HIATUS OFF:

Hey Kotaku- I know you read this. So you gotta give me an answer.

What is with the whole, "Here is your..." sentence structure that you guys seem obsessed with these days.

Here is your New Final Fantasy Playstation Console
Here are your XBLA top ten retro games
Here is your super dooper next-gen graphics PC car
Here is your daily dose of publisher hyperbole
Here are your monthly NPD numbers


Oooh, I know:

Here is your chance to knock it the FUCK off cause it drives me up the fucking wall!


Ahem... :)

So, are you guys riffing on some net meme that I am not aware of? Is it indeed a joke that I simply don't get cause I musta missed the kick off meeting (ala the whole DUDE HUGE thing, which in the end, had to be explained to me by a kind poster on this blog)?

The only thing I can think of is when that Playstation spokeswoman ages ago was showing the XMB and she's all like- after showing it, "And there's your new interface"....

...that stuck with me cause I just found her wording a touch on the odd side...

...but that probably has nothing to do with what you guys are doing/referencing/talking about, but it's the only thing in my memory bank that even comes close to feeling like a cross reference.

So I ask: What is up with this, Kotaku?!?

Anyway...it's my problem, not yours. I still loves ya, Kotaku. But for the love of God, explain the joke or tell me it's NOT supposed to be a joke and it's just the way you guys talk/write so I can stop getting annoyed by it.

High maintenance? ME?!?! Nah... :)

David

HIATUS BACK ON-

Brief Hiatus

Hey all- sorry for the lack of posts this week. Been swamped getting ready for our big dog and pony (as well as focus tests) next week in San Fran and Los Angeles.

I will be back to regular posting next week or the start of the next. So check back then for new updates.

Have a great weekend- take care- see ya soon!

Thanks for understanding! We are just crazy swamped!

David


UPDATE: A brief interview I did with the ACADEMY OF INTERACTIVE ARTS AND SCIENCES just went up. Thanks to commenter GUY for pointing this out!

From Creator to Fan + my kid is sick of Granola bars...

And here's part II :)



Have a great weekend ya'll!

David

If we ever make another Twisted Metal...

...now I know where to go for our vehicle designs!



Man, that's cool!

David

Well Hell...

My heart goes out to all those 1up and EGM folks who lost their jobs today. It's a real shame considering what an important part you guys/gals have played in the US gaming world all these years. Thanks for the many, many years of great, entertaining work.

Good luck landing on your feet and finding new jobs that you love.

David

JAFFE VS N'GAI + TM MIGHTY MUGGS!+ EAT SLEEP PLAY CONTEST WINNERS!

Here is the link to N'gai's response to my previous video post...


And here are the AMAZING Mighty Mugg Twisted Metal customs, compliments of Mrs. Ven0m over at Twisted Metal Alliance!



Sweet Tooth!


Mr. Grimm!


And even AXEL! Love the tires!

Ok ya'll- chat soon! Take it easy!

David

Last Post Of The Year + Nyquil Dreams + WIN AN EAT SLEEP PLAY JACKET!

UPDATE!++++++++++

Wow- that didn't take long. I guess I should have said the FUNNIEST overall cause there were some funny ones in there. But according to the rules- that I made up while tired and getting my first buzz of Nyquil- the FIRST 2 things to make me smile/laugh are the winners. So with that said, here they are:

Lateralus sent me this that both amused me and made me kind of sick to my stomach:




And then this little gem from Delriach! Fucking love this! Where did it come from? How did I miss this?!?!


So there you have it. The first ever winners of the official EAT SLEEP PLAY jacket!

If you two guys will shoot me your emails in this post, I will get your jackets mailed out around the 5th of January. They are both the same size I think and I don't recall what that size is. And as always, I am not responsible- nor is EAT SLEEP PLAY- for getting you the jacket at all, getting it to you by a certain time, making sure you don't do stupid shit with the jacket,etc...we WILL send it but just saying that once it hits the mail, we're off the hook :)

But when you get it, would love to get a pic of you wearing it for the blog :)


Happy New Year everyone. Be safe, have fun, and thanks so much for all the great support over the last year!

David











Check back once the ball drops Pacific Time to see who the 2 winners are :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, AND ALL OTHER HOLIDAYS!

Swamped- sorry for such a dull holiday post!

Hope you all had a great, safe holiday and have been making the time to do all kinds of fun stuff.

Will hit you all up in a few days with details on how to win our annual EAT SLEEP PLAY New Year's prize. This year. we've got a couple of EAT SLEEP PLAY jackets to give away! They are cool!

Ok- gotta run. Talk in a few- Happy Holidays ya'll!

David

SICKY SUNDAY + EAT SLEEP PLAY INTERVIEW

Whole house is sick with colds. Up all nite with my oldest who had a fever. At one point neither of us could sleep so we just said screw it (well, she didn't say that, she is 5) and we went downstairs, rented Disney's Aladdin on the Playstation Store (God I love digital distribution!), and watched cartoons for a few hours.

Today has been a mix of watching Christmas cartoons on TV with the girls (along with bits of the Wizard of Oz), reading a book, and playing games on STEAM (Crazy Machines, Pirates, TF2...inches away from downloading a new game I had never heard of until I got into Steam called NEXUS: The JUPITER INCIDENT)...

Oh hey, speaking of Steam: do any Steam users know if there is a way to get an itemized bill of all the games you have purchased and what they have cost?

Ok, but so anyway- back to my Sunday:

So it's crazy low key and we're all sick...but it's actually kind of a nice, chill Sunday. I'm digging it.

Oh and I wanted to post a link to an interview Scott Campbell and I did last week for PSX EXTREME, a blog/game site focused on Playstation.

Give it a read if you are so inclined!

Take care- talk later!

David

I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE...

...with STEAM!!!


Sitting here as the weekend rolls in and thinking, "I'm in the mood for some PC games"....now I know I have some I need to play for the awards and such, but I was like, "Nah, this weekend I wanna play some stuff I just want to play for me..."...and so I go to the STEAM store and grab Sid Meier's Pirates! (played on the psp for about 1 day and loved it but never went back cause I got busy)...and so I am getting that now and also getting TF2, as I only played that on console.

How fucking cool is this to shop for mass market, BIG, full games from your fucking desktop?!?!

I know I am 18 months late leaping onto the Steam train but fuck it, better late than never!

I love this shit!

David

THE NASTIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN...AND ONE OF THE SADDEST AS WELL...:(

Self-explanatory.



I was going to link to this for you. I really was. But I'm just not. I'm not a tease. If you want to see it yourself, search it yourself.

But man, maybe this is fake. This has to be fake, yes?

David