All entries written in January, 2011
January 30, 2011 at 12:29 pm · Filed under Announcements
The U. S. Review of Books had some very nice things to say about The Gauntlet. Allow me to remind you that you can buy all of my books via the official Lulu store. They come in print and digital form–the latter looks great on an iPad!
January 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm · Filed under Reviews, Thoughts
I am officially pissed at this franchise.
Don’t get me wrong–Dark Dawn was a great game while it lasted. There aren’t too many classic JRPGs being released anymore, so even though the gameplay was ridiculously similar to the GBA Golden Suns, it was nice to reinhabit that framework for a while. And the story, which picks up 30 years after Golden Sun: The Lost Age, draws you in with a deceptively simple premise that grows into something entirely different, steeped all the while in the lore of this universe. For a veteran of the series, it’s a real treat to see familiar characters reappear, and to watch as questions are raised that may finally lay to rest this decade-long plotline.
Except those questions are never answered. Just like the original Golden Sun, Dark Dawn ends on a cliffhanger, leaving too much unresolved and making the game’s final act feel budget-ran-dry rushed.
Keep reading….
January 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm · Filed under Extras, Interactive
Well, it’s been a good three years since my last giveaway, and now that the 15% off promotion for The Gauntlet has expired, I figure this is as good a time as any to do another. Sometime in February, I will be giving one free copy of The Arc of Time to a randomly-chosen reader. We’re talking about a copy of the print version here, and a rare one–it was my shelf copy until I redid the back covers of all three volumes, so it still has the original back cover text. Otherwise, though, it’s exactly the same book. AoT is the third volume in the series, but even if you haven’t read volumes one and two, it’s a perfectly good place to jump in.
To enter the contest, leave a comment on any post or send me an email using the link in the “Site Nav” box (click on the little envelope icon). I’ll contact the winner after the drawing.
January 7, 2011 at 9:05 am · Filed under Misc, Personal, Thoughts
Here are some things I’ve been doing lately:
- Getting a lot of use out of that Livescribe Smartpen. It was an adjustment at first, but now I’m very much into it. The instantaneous backups give me a ton of peace of mind, let me look up notebooks without leaving my computer chair, and best of all, none of the longhand writing I do from now on will need to be scanned for posterity! (Or, uh, to protect from loss and/or damage–that’s the real reason I’m so paranoid.)
- Speaking of scanning–that project I keep mentioning has hit a slow point as I slog my way through what must be 2,000 sketches from junior high through early college. I’ve even found a handful that date back to grade school. Maybe by next week, I’ll have found enough passable art that I can make another picture post, but some of this stuff should really never see the light of day. Case in point: there was a moment in the development of my art when I experimented with lantern jaws and “realistic” noses. I showed a friend of mine once, and he couldn’t stop screaming. I kid you not.
- I got stood up by a hair stylist last night. I have to admit that this is one I didn’t see coming.
- I’m going to see the King Tut exhibit next week, since it’s more or less right around the corner from me. It’s a little creepy when you consider that all these “treasures” were technically stolen from a royal grave, but when am I ever going to be in Egypt?
- There are so many games I want to play–many of them adventure games–but I can really only handle one at a time. Currently, that one is Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, which was arguably the best Christmas gift I received this year (courtesy of my sister). It looks like it’s going to be a good, long JRPG that will finally wrap up the loose threads from the original GBA installments of this series. I’d been waiting for it for years, and so far it’s breaking a decent amount of new ground (for Golden Sun, anyway).
