I wasn't really planning on saying Merry Christmas in this post but I just happened to forget to front page the news story, and now I'm stuck with having to say something in this post as I make another. OH WELL.

-John :)

Thanks to everyone in this topic who responded before I even had a chance to make any good announcement :). But I got engaged last night to my girlfriend of 5 years. We're celebrating for the meantime, no wedding date set, but it was definitely a big step for us.

I need a beer.

I finally reached a 1,000 people who have "added me to their favourites" list. It only took 4-5 years.

In celebration I will drink my coffee and continue programming.

I love games with old music in them.

My recent jaunts through the wastelands of Fallout 3 have been nicely accompanied by an accessory radio they give you with your Pipboy3000. The radio plays all sorts of older tunes, and even though the game is set in the future I enjoy the mellow 50's style of music. I love how the game seems to tap a culture that is purely Cold War but is frozen in a post-nuclear age.

Bioshock was also one of those games that had great music. The game also had culturally significant tunes of the a half decade's past (most notably "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin) while subsiding in an futuristic underwater human colony.

Both games seem to stir a style of futurism stuffed in a 50/60's getup. The craft and attention to make something so new yet so old is incredibly appealing to me. I love the idea of a game being one part steampunk, one part cold-war, and one part dystopia. It's an amazing feeling when played, boiling down to two really well crafted games.

And the music is just the icing on the cake.

I'll be downloading these songs on iTunes, because now more than ever I want to walk around modern society with some 50's music on the dial.

You made your way across 2 aisles of parking rows just to harass a woman about the Obama sticker on her car. She didn't ask for an argument and she wasn't there to pick a fight with you.

You may have strong beliefs, but it doesn't give you the right to be a jerk. After she told you to stop harassing her you wouldn't stop. You kept following her, keeping up with her as she tried to buy groceries. "Why are you voting for Obama?" you said. "You have a sticker on your car! Why are you voting for him?"

You should know that personal opinions can be private. Not everyone is comfortable debating abortion or gay rights with complete strangers (especially ones that are forceful and care not to listen in the first place).

And worse, your wife just stood there outside your "McCain-Palin" sticker adourned white Cadillac, watching over not saying a word.

I know you probably won't get this message since you are way above Newgrounds's age demographic, but maybe your kid or grandkid who visits this site knows you do this to people, and maybe since your wife couldn't stand up to you maybe your kids can.

And to the woman who was just trying to shop, I am sorry that I didn't say anything. You were just trying to buy your groceries, but instead you got harassed by an older man who wanted nothing more but to tell you that your choices were wrong. Whether you're Democrat, Republican, or whatever... basic courtesy and kindness to others is far more important than your need to tell someone they are wrong.

-John

Hi guys,

Busy month of August, let me tell you that much.

In early August I went to Casual Connect, a sort of minE3 for Casual Gaming which brings together some of the players in the industry for demos, conferences, and development conversations. It's really more work and less play, but it was definitely interesting to see how gaming has impacted all these new markets. I wouldn't have ever guessed there was a market in 65+ gamers! Also, it was really awesome just to explore Seattle with Dan and enjoy the nice Summer weather up there.

The week following The-EXP + Fiancee and Ido (Flash: Portal Version) came to visit the Armor Games Office and it was a blast! We did all the really, really important Southern California things such as going to Medieval Times and Disneyland. It was a lot of fun. Yeah we're total dorks.

Just a week and a half later and it's off to PAX! I finally got to meet Tom for the first time which was neat... you feel like you know someone so well already from all the updates they provide on their site that it leaves that awkward "man, I know so much about him but how much does he know about me?" feeling. But I was quite flattered that he knew about the RPG I was working on (still working on for that matter) so I was pretty happy. Also met the great team behind Transmigration and Marvin Spectrum, two games I find very, very attractive. Also met PixelJam's team, who are also sporting chaps.

And this week... well I guess it's September now. Got a new Atari-style / western-flared / keepy-uppy / puzzle-based shooting game coming up. It's done, I just need to sit on it for a few more hours to assure myself that it's up to snuff.

Friday I take off for a Florida vacation with my girlfriend. We're celebrating our five year anniversary on that trip so it'll be a blast :).

See you soon Newgrounds!

I'm working overtime to get a bunch of games played before September. In case you didn't know, it's going to be another amazing fourth quarter in the gaming industry (soooo many good games again this Christmas). If you have a game on your wish list most likely it is coming out, sort of like last years amazing end-of-year. Spore, Fallout 3, Gears 2, Viva Pinata 2, Banjo/Kazooie 3, Little Big Planet, the list goes on.

So here is what I am playing right now on my various systems (I am REALLY A.D.D. when it comes to gaming and I rotate games constantly):

Wii: Mario Kart Wii, because I have some tough competition coming up when I see my dad next time (got him a wii for Christmas, he is becoming a Mario Kart guru swiftly)

PS3: Drakes Fortune... if you ever liked Indiana Jones this is as close as you can get to having a similar grave-robbing/bad-guy killing third-person fiesta.

PS2: Metal Gear Solid. It's really hard going back and playing MGS 1 on a PS2, because the graphics have not dated well. I am hoping to play MGS1-3 before #4.

XB360: Half Life 2. I feel bad that I never actually beat this game and given the amount of love good gamers give it I had to dig in.

DS: The World Ends with You. This psychotic DS RPG from the creator of Kingdom Hearts is a lot of fun, if not totally confusing and crazy at the same time.

PSP: Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. I play this only when I travel, but it's a lot of fun. It takes hours to beat each battle and seriously, I doubt I will finish this game this year.

Mac: Peggle. OH geez, Peggle is the most addicting casual game I have ever played. Nice job Pop-cap.

I am still convinced that instead of the tank trophies it should have been a "Glowing Piece of Radical Rock" from the Agro Crag with a podium ceremony, but looks like common sense wins that argument.

Anyway, I looked at the list of Game nominees today and decided that the task of picking and choosing is not going to be as easy-peasy as originally thought. It's easy to remember the popular games from the last few months of 2007, but when you span that list all the way back to January you realize just how many good games were produced in 2007 it's mindblowing. I haven't made any decisions yet and I am going to spend my time on this one. It's one thing voting for monthlies, but it's another voting for a yearly award. We'll see how it goes down.

As for my own stuff I'm in the process of four different projects. I have an RPG in progress, complete with 40 different cities and an Oregon-Trail sort of gameplay experience. I also have a Text-based choose your own adventure sort of thing in progress right now too, that plays more like a riddle-based/exploration game than anything. I also have something coming up with BoMToons whenever he finds time, and finally I am working on a sequel to TBA called TBA++ or TBADX, I haven't decided what yet... something as ambiguously named as the first.

Have a good dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :).

I'm just keeping the song going in the news feed.

In better news, I am working on an Interactive Fiction, which is like an interactive story that you type commands for. Imagine a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, just completely text-based. It should be done in a few weeks! The storyline has a bit of metagame, which should lead for some extra fun.

Thanks for the support of my latest game, Compulse. I appreciate it!

And you should really buy one of my Ball Revamped balls, now available in real-life form. They are squishy and can be thrown at people or walls if you so choose. I had to choose the Pantone colors for these things to true accurate colors from the game, so the soul I had to pour into these things should be enough for you to spend the few bucks on them :). Ball Revamped first started on Newgrounds oh-so-many years ago.

Take care!