Yesterday, I finished the latest game on my retro kick -- Dungeon Master: Chaos Strikes Back. Unlike the first DM, this one I'd never before finished, and with good reason. This game was considerably more difficult and complex than the original. I doubt I would have been able to finish it without the detailed map info available from the net (at the very least, it would have taken much longer than the many hours it already took). With the maps, though, it's a great game to play, even after all these years. For information, maps, and downloads, check out Dungeon Master Information.

Today my '92 Jeep Cherokee hit 200,000 miles on the odometer. In anticipation for this event, I've had the camera ready and I've been taking pictures over the past couple of days.

I've revamped the news system for this page, Night's Edge: Wet Works, and Scavenger. The change should be almost completely transparent to visitors. All of the posts are now stored in a relational database instead of a separate text file for each message. Mostly, this has been a fun little experiment and a chance to play around with MySQL. Plus I might just be able to add a little more functionality (like last update timestamps).

I'm still trying to find a good IF game subject that I can really get jazzed about. I was really into Scavenger as soon as I conceived it. Unfortunately, every idea I've had since then has gone through a bit of refinement and then stalled. Part of the problem, I think, is that I've started putting too much thought into community reaction. Not how much people enjoy them, but how much they are actively discussed. Risorgimento Represso and Scavenger placed 2nd and 3rd in the comp, but the game that got all the attention was Slouching Towards Bedlam because of its unique concepts and unusual twists. So while an old-fashioned puzzler can do well in comps and even receive high praise, it really won't get discussed and talked about the way an unusual and avant garde piece will. So I think what's happening is that I find myself in a deadlock between working the good-but-mundane game ideas I have and wanting my game to be debated and pondered in a public setting. This puts me into a bit of a quandry because I have a severe lack of original creativity (as anyone who played Scavenger has no doubt realized). The avant garde IF requires, at its core, a new and innovative idea. That's always the tricky part, isn't it?