http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacifi c/7224871.stm

Apparently the mainstream news has completely failed to talk about any of the 1.4 million Chinese troops that have been deployed to help keep China stable during a freak snowstorm that has locked hundreds of thousands of people out of electricity, a ride home on the train, or basic necessities and goods.

Right now there are hundreds of thousands of people sitting at train stations on the streets, waiting to get on trains. Every time a train comes to the station, its a stampede to get on causing numerous injuries and even death. People have been waiting on the streets upwards of 3-4 days to get on.

100 million people are affected by the winter storms. But where is the news on all of this?

Apparently the he-said/she-said of the political race has been drowning out this humanitarian crisis. But afterall, everyone is more interested in Super Tuesday around here in the United States. I respect the elections, but something that effects 100 million people and has caused 200,000 people to become sick should cut a bit into the air time of candidates.

Ziff Davis Media apparently loves me this month... Games for Windows Magazine ran an article called "The Top 52 Free Games to Play Now" in their February issue, and Dark Cut 2 was featured on page 52 in the simulation section! They link to Newgrounds in that article, which is great. Also in the magazine is a really nice article about getting into casual game design.

Also, 1UP.com recently ran an article for the top 101 free games of 2007, and I managed to get 4 games into that list! That list includes Ball Revamped 5, Dark Cut 2, Luminara, and Four Second Frenzy.

I also wanted to post a link to the new game I am working on. Production name "Elements", this game focuses on manipulating the level to make progress instead of the player. Take a look at the YouTube Video. It should have 30 levels of funnnnnn! The video quality sucks, so bare with it.

Okay, that's all... have a really lovely day!

I'M GOING TO GET YOU PENGUINNNNN

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
419430

In case you haven't had a gander at the new Underdog of the Week, Cursor*10 is incredible. The review score of 9.6 is a tribute to that. I t came out of judgement with a 2.96, and I watched it slowly dissapear from the portal without much of a hurrah. But if you play this game, you'll understand the amazing gameplay it has.

I just wanted to give this game the exposure it deserved. I hope it goes frontpage, because this is one of the freshest new game concepts I have seen in a long time. It's a game that makes you build teamwork with... well... yourself in a way.

New gameplay mechanics are hard to come by in this game and age... glad someone had the time to make something like this.

FreeGamesNews announced that I was the Action/Skill game developer of the year! A lot of Newgrounds users voted for me, so I really appreciate it. I've never been voted best of anything in the Flash Gaming world outside of Newgrounds, so it's good to win something even if it's just bragging rights.

Mr. Afro Ninja also took a smooth third, so congrats to him too!

Well, this is the first real award nomination I have gotten for "Best Action/Platform/Skill games", and I would love you guys to help vote for me for this category!

In case you don't know what FreeGamesNews is, it is a website that tracks free casual gaming and writes reviews for tons of Flash Games. I have had about 5-6 games reviewed here, as well as a full page interview! They are really doing a lot for the Flash community and those strange .exe devs.

So if you would, please help and VOTE!

And if you would, buddy ol' pal Afro Ninja is also in for this Escape series, over in the
Room Escape Voting section (they call him Shawn Tanner, whoever that is). Thank God they didn't pit us against each other, there would have been hair everywhere.

Take a look at the site too, it's a great website! And congrats to all the other devs who have been nominated!

Christmas is coming... you done with shopping yet?

Already Christmas is coming (earlier than ever), and the housewives are running rampant as we speak to find the hot toys and gifts this year.

This is the first year where I am not really sure what I want for Christmas. Sure, there are always things that I kind of want (like the 28 DVD complete Twilight Zone collection), but it's not like I need something like that. For some reason, I do not have anything I really, really want this year. Maybe the separation of needs and wants finally happened, I am not sure. If anything, the only thing I really need is a few new pairs of socks and a haircut, but people aren't too ready to give that as a gift. I just feel guilty asking for something that is not very practical. But then again, most Christmas presents end up not being very practical at all.

So maybe the question is, what do you want for Christmas? Maybe you can spark my imagination.

Then there is the whole element of surprise thing. When someone gets you the gift that even you couldn't have come up with, I think that is an amazing feeling. I feel that way too, because that translates to my position as a game developer. What can you throw at your audience that totally pleases them, but at the same time is completely surprising? I think that is a big challenge for me personally... since I am making a game that many very different people will play. Making the universal surprise is quite a challenge. Maybe this is why Christmas shopping for your entire family is so hard sometimes... you are trying to make many different people wow'd with a very limited chance.

Then again, being a Flash developer is so amazing, because you have a tool that can craft pretty much anything. Most people expect for Christmas some sort of premade chunk of plastic and metal like an Ipod or camera. With Flash, you pretty much can make whatever you want and present it to thousands of people. It's a bit more difficult when you are trying to surprise one individual with one pre-manufactured gift.

So as you move closer to Christmas, and you are getting gifts for people, think about the gifts you plan to exchange. Can you surprise and wow them without spending thousands of dollars on some consumer electronic? What will it take to make someone's Christmas, and make them realize that they are getting something they truly need or want? It's definitely a challenge, but so rewarding if it is achieved. Surprising someone can make Christmas truly awesome... especially if they can surprise you back :).

-John

And completely off-topic, but Glaiel-Gamer started this jmtb02 Day thing, and I am hoping it doesn't suck.

Well, we just played Kongregate today in a Halo match. The Armor Games team did extremely well, and you can read the rest of the article on the Armor Blog. Who says work can't be boring?

If you ever want to jump on Halo with me something, my screen name is jmtb02. How original.

In other news, I bought the movie Hot Fuzz today on HdDVD. That movie is just about the most hilarious movie I've seen in years. British humour is awesome.

I run circles when I drink Red Bull or Monster. When I drink it at work, I don't know what it is, but I can sit down and blaze through hundreds of lines of code in a matter of hours.

Is it the energy, the sugar? The alertness? I can't tell.

But anyway, I feel fidgety and giddy, but I can sit down and get a huge amount of work done... more than normal. I would have thought the opposite.

Writing a good review takes a lot of talent, timing, and whimsy to catch the audience's attention. However, I was distraught by the attitude of the Newgrounds community by a recent review I wrote for a political animation.

I recently reviewed an animation concerning a political statement, and was barraged by one of the most immature responses I could have ever conceived. I quote the author response:

It's not very reasonable for you to complain to me about how I chose to express myself. You should do the reasonable thing and shut the hell up because this is an ANIMATION WEBSITE.

First off, this sentence makes absolutely no sense. How is it not reasonable to complain about his animation in a review? Isn't that the very nature of reviewing, is to state one's opinion on a public piece of work? I am also baffled by the idea that this is an animation website, thus the loss of right to make any sort of negative comment.

Second, I am concerned about the idea of people using the "Is this review helpful?" button as a measure of "I agree or disagree with this review". Really, isn't the point of that to say whether to state whether you think the review was well versed or not? Reviews are only helpful if written well, and I have to say, for all the work I put into that review, I was confused by the current 5 / 11 people who thought it was useful.

Sure, the animation is getting a 4.something and is doing well, but just because you take a different stance doesn't mean the review was not helpful.

Here is my review in full length, you can decide if it was helpful or not. God knows, it might get flagged as inappropriate in the days to come. I kindly ask the Newgrounds community to re-review their own review skills and reading, if for anything the sake of my sanity on this site.

"Summary: "Weak Argument, Terrible Message"

Wait, let me see if I have this right. You have issues with the government, so your response is to make a music-video length animation about the problems facing it without giving a clear platform or objective? This animation is the most misguided, unrealistic view of government and ways to fix it.

If you have a problem with something, do something reasonable about it.

Basically you could have done something awesome with your time. You have the talent, just a lack of direction. If you have a political stance, than god speed to you. But really, your textbook definitions and quotes from the Declaration of Independence are not going to save our media monopolies or whatever else you seemed to pace through way too quickly in the beginning... with everyone suddenly getting angry and taking over their government in a giant war for democracy.

The animation suffers far beyond your lack of focus. You subject looks like the devil, and I hate to break it to you, but portraying your protagonist as the devil doesn't really work when you want your audience to identify with the main subject. If memory serves me right, the devil is typically a negative, non-associated character. And several times the pacing was just irregular and awkward. It makes it hard to understand what you are trying to say (but overall, I had no clue what you were trying to say... besides burn and kill Capitol Hill because you hate our government policies)?

Next time, take your catchy song and do something more meaningful with yourself. I'm waiting for your nonchalant "I'LL DO WHATEVER I WANT" response from other reviews, because really, it fits your "rebellion will triumph!" attitude about things... skewed, illogical, and definitely among those who will sit in the backseat complaining with no solution or guidance.

-J