Busy, busy

Very slow progress on VectorStorm lately. This is mostly because of being extremely busy at work, but also because I’ve been playing games rather than making them, the past week.

Stuff I’ve been playing this week: Sam and Max – The Raving Dead (excellent, for those following the Sam and Max series), Metroid Prime 3 (probably even better than the original Metroid Prime, for those who like exploration/puzzling action), Burnout: Paradise City (fantastic example of how to squeeze huge amounts of value out of a single set of level geometry), Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations (I have a real weakness for this series), Oendan 2 (this game is going to ruin my eyes. Must.. remember.. to.. blink!), Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Casual game with stunningly high production values. And the setting is straight out of a platform game that I’ve been wanting to make for a long time, so I’m mildly annoyed that they got there first, and more fully-realised than I could possibly manage on my own), Patapon (I like its graphic style, but I’m not yet convinced by the gameplay), and just in case I somehow manage to finish all of the above, I also have the new “Apollo Justice” game in my “to be played” queue. And N+ on the 360 has more levels than I’ll ever manage to make it through. Especially bits of episode 14. Mean ol’ Metanet (they do apologise for that one, at least).

More independent stuff I’ve been playing this week includes Warning Forever (boss-centered sh’mup where later bosses are evolved based upon how well you dealt with earlier bosses), Tripline (deceptively simple puzzle game; I’m currently working on solving the very last level), and I’m immensely pleased to have finally beaten Cursor*10 (single-player cooperative game; outside-the-box game design!) At work, I’ve had a window open for the past week, with The Tall Stump running in it (I can’t really play it for more than a few minutes at a time; I find the controls to be painfully fiddly, but I also can’t simply stop playing it!) And of course, I can’t ignore Samurai Movers, which is simple, joyous mayhem (assist a nice old lady who’s moving house, through careful use of your trebuchet).

I’m hoping to get around to doing some more coding sometime soon; perhaps this weekend. But for right now, work and work-recuperation are taking my time. Things should ease off a lot, late next week. :)