Video Games

RDU Code Camp

Dugald Wilson — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:04:42 GMT

RDU Code Camp is this Saturday, Nov 15, from 8:15am to 5pm. Door open at 7:30am.

It promises to be a great day full of developer-oriented content. In addition, there will be an Open Spaces, and an XBox 360 for playing Rock Band! Lunch will be provided, and there are prizes at the end - hope to see you there!

Merry Christmas from XBox 360!

Dugald Wilson — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 19:00:38 GMT

On the upside, I did get to play 6 songs of Guitar Hero II first.

This will mark my second return of an XBox 360 in just about 2 years. I think it bears noting that this will be 2 more returns than I have experienced with any console EVER. I have owned video game systems as far back as I can remember, from Intellivision and Atari (my grandmother's Atari still works), through the NES, Genesis, Playstation1, N64, Gamecube, PS2, and original XBox.

I think the XBox 360 is a great system, but the number of hardware faults seen are just laughable at this point. When I was shipping my Christmas gifts, a guy came in with a unit for return, and the clerk recognized the return box on sight for what it was. That shouldn't happen.

The acceptable number of unrecoverable hardware failures for a console is 0. I'm not talking about conditions were the system reboots and all is well - I still remember those frustrations from my childhood. I'm talking about failures to the point where your purchase is rendered a doorstop, which seems to be the norm of the types of failures the 360 owners are experiencing. I'm averaging one a year, and know of folks who have been through several.

For a failure this big, is there truly a possibility that Microsoft, a company that expends an enormous amount of effort in testing and quantifying things, was unaware of it, or was this seen, evaluated, and marked as an acceptable cost for the reward of being the first of the new systems on the market?

I'm looking to be out of a system for 2-3 weeks, at a time when I have several games from Christmas to play, not to mention several holdovers from the amazing Fall season release schedule. It's frustrating, especially becoming a veteran of the return cycle. It would be great if Microsoft could update their return cycle for repeat users whereby we could get a new / refurb box shipped to us as our broken box is sent back, taking a bit of the sting out of a frustration that shouldn't be happening.

VS2008 Installfest Review

Dugald Wilson — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:25:27 GMT

In a word, awesome.

TriNUG, in conjunction with Microsoft, threw a VS2008 Installfest party last night, and much fun was had by all. There was VS2008 installing, presentations on VS2008 topics, Guitar Hero 2, tons of food and drink, and much merriment. It was a great chance to get together with fellow techies and have a great time. As an added bonus, we gathered donations of food and took them to the NC Food Bank in Durham.

I had a great time at the event - got to see old friends, make new friends, and play a little XBox. My only complaint is the event will end up costing me ~$90, as I now have to go buy Guitar Hero.

Windows Live Spaces

This Was a Triumph

Dugald Wilson — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 01:46:07 GMT

"I'm making a note here, HUGE SUCCESS."

The title and above quote come courtesy of the most amazing game to cross my path this year, pOrtal.

pOrtal first wowed me from the first trailer I ever saw. The concept was amazing, and while the idea was utilized to some degree in Prey, it was presented in pOrtal as a much purer concept. This game isn't about using your native american heritage to defeat aliens, with some portals thrown in - this game is about bending the fabric of space-time, and doing all the ridiculously cool things that come possible as a result.

pOrtal comes as part of "The Orange Box" from Valve, a tidy sum of Half-Life 2, with additional Episodes 1 and 2, as well as Team Fortress 2 . It's available for the XBox 360 and PC.

If you haven't finished pOrtal yet, and plan to, read no further, as spoilers follow.

While the original premise of pOrtal could have been enough, for me it has a great story. I really enjoyed how the story is subtly interwoven into the gameplay: first, through the guidance of the disembodied voice walking you through the tests, and later in the messages scrawled on the walls as you make your way through the testing complex. I loved that the narrator proved unreliable, a la "usual Suspects", although telegraphed quite a bit more, and really enjoyed how in the process of the game, you end up breaking down the fourth wall in a way, as you end up moving through the areas behind the testing centers.

On top of all that, there was cake.