#GAME PLAYER'S GAMETAPE

[retrocgads]

USA 1990

[replayxvalue]

Player Review-1944: The Loop Master (2000) Developers-8ing/Raizing Publishers-Capcom Platforms-Arcade, GameTap Series-194X Genres-Vertical Scrolling Shooter Modes-Single-Player, 2-Player Co-op Arcade System-CP System II

1944: The Loop Master is undoubtedly the masterpiece of Capcom's 19XX franchise. As I stated in my review of 1941: Counter Attack, it feels like every game in the series is ACTUALLY the same game, getting better and better each time until they produce the final product, which would be this.  This isn't Capcom's greatest effort in the vertical-scrolling shooter genre BUT it is definitely one of the best.

What makes this one so much better than it's predecessors? Let's start with the visuals. 1944 being created over a decade after the first game in the series means massive graphical upgrades, it means more detail, it means better looking stages, better designed enemy aircraft and that more can be happening on the screen at once which adds to the chaos and difficulty of the gameplay. There seems to be an actual art direction and an attempt to create an actual atmosphere around the game so it doesn't feel so empty and devoid of character. Each stage feels like it’s own battle and it's own moment within the war so there is some semblance of story here. Titles that ran on Capcom's CPS-II arcade system board used the Qsound processing algorithm so this game could have a legitimate soundtrack and vibrant sound effects. The background music has a very "Top Gun/80's action movie" flavor to it.

The problem with the previous games is that they were so tedious and repetitive that they almost didn't feel like games at all, they felt like tasks or chores..things you didn't want to do but you had to do. 1944 actually feels like a game. It's actually fun to play both alone and with a friend. Strategizing on how to take out each special target and how to get to it's weak points without taking substantial damage was actually entertaining as opposed to just mindlessly floating through level after level of boring enemies that barely offer a challenge. The game calculating the amount of enemies on the level you destroyed actually makes sense for this installment more than some of the earlier games in the series because it's actually hard to destroy some of the different tanks, warships and bombers. I actually ended up with less than 100% accuracy in 1942 or 1943 for some levels because I got tired of even pushing the fire button.

THE GOOD -Capcom teamed up with Eighting/Raizing to create this title who you may know for creating the Bloody Roar franchise, but they are also absolute masters when it comes to the vertical-scrolling shooter genre. If you can't have any fun playing this...you just don't like these types of games.

-Although there is still isn't much of a story present in this game, they at least do their due diligence to create a unique and interesting atmosphere around it. I assume that because it deals with an event that actually happened (World War II), Capcom didn't want to put their own spin on it, which is understandable but at the very least the game feels like it's own world. It has it's own energy.

-If you are able to utilize the charge shot properly as well as the other power-ups, the stages actually go pretty quickly.

-The game is only 15 levels so even though right off the bat it's alot more fun than the games that preceded it, it doesn't give you a chance to get bored of it before it's over.

THE BAD -1944 isn't as interesting as many of the other games in this genre and even some distributed by Capcom themselves because it deals with our own actual history so it doesn't have as much material to work with as titles that went the science fiction route. This is more of a nitpick than anything though because there is nothing actually wrong with using a more realistic atmosphere for a game.

I give 1944: The Loop Master a 7.9 out of 10 SOLID

[kaiserdingus]

Knuckles’ Chaotix - 1995 Sega 32X Retrospective

In the 90′s Sega just couldn’t get past the idea of add-on peripherals for the Sega Genesis, despite repeated failures. As discussed in the Sonic CD retrospective, Sega had previously tried a CD based add-on that could breathe new life into the Sega Genesis, if only any one could afford it.

In 1995, Sega decided to try again with the Sega 32X, a mushroom-like add-on that gave the Genesis the power to rival the newer consoles like the Sony PlayStation and Sega’s own Saturn. You can probably guess that the story doesn’t end well for the 32X, but we did get a solid Sonic game out of it. Well, more of a spin-off game.

Knuckles Chaotix was released in March of 1995 alongside the 32X add-on, the first Sonic spin-off to feature Knuckles as the lead. The game introduces several new characters, including Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee, and it reintroduces Mighty the Armadillo from SegaSonic the Hedgehog.

The game is based on the standard Sonic formula, a side-scrolling platformer with an emphasis on speedy pinball physics, but Chaotix adds its own spin: the player controls two characters connected by ring energy. Similar to how Tails would follow the player in previous games, now the player can pick a support character to help them slingshot around stages. This is an interesting game mechanic that can be as fun as it is frustrating.

The stages are the most colorful in the history of Sonic games, with less of the blues and greens used in standard Sonic games and more purples and yellows. Each stage has its own theme and gimmicks, as is common in Sonic games, but instead of playing through them in a linear fashion the stages are random. This keeps the game fresh, but instead of the two-act formula levels now have five acts.

Much like Sonic CD, Knuckles Chaotix didn’t have the opportunity to accumulate a fan-base due to the 32X’s low sales. Sonic CD has seen a handful of releases, but Knuckles Chaotix has only ever seen one official re-release as part of the subscription-based service GameTap. Because of this, its been an elusive treasure to fans too young to have experienced it in 1995.

For fans who were there at launch, it was more of a disappointment than anything. Appreciation for it has grown in the years since, but when it came out there were numerous issues with the 32X device itself. Many households couldn’t get the 32X to work with their Genesis consoles. Within the year Sega stopped supporting the add-on entirely, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of fans everywhere.

This is all completely unfair to Knuckles Chaotix, the game itself is a perfectly fine and competent spin-off that’s been forever tarnished by its reputation as the only Sonic game holding up the 32X. Fans expected a follow-up to the previous year’s Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, Chaotix was not that by a long shot. Maybe if the fabled Sonic Mars had come to fruition it would’ve taken the heat off Chaotix.

Knuckles Chaotix is one of the best looking and best sounding Sonic games of the 90′s. The art style is fantastic, the colors are vibrant and exciting, and the soundtrack is one of the best in the entire series. None of this stops the game from being a mediocre package overall. I’d like to see it get re-released someday, but I doubt it’ll happen any time soon. The game is simply more novelty than something worth playing through to the end.

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[bestfungames1]

New Post has been published on https://bestfungames.com/video-clip-games-can-be-good-for-you/

Video Clip Games Can Be Good For You

Video Clip Games Can Be Good For You

  Millions of Americans appreciate video games-for the adrenaline rush, the companionship, the competition, as well as the chance to end up being a conquering traveler, at the very least in a digital globe.

The excellent news is Americans do not have to cost a fortune to play the computer game they love. Turner Broadcasting System’s GameTap is one of the current and also biggest choices for customers to obtain their video game on and experience all the good ideas about games. The very first of its kind broadband entertainment network, GameTap (www.gametap.com) offers thousands of the greatest video games across numerous platforms for a cost effective $14.95 per month.

” Turner created GameTap since they desired gamers to have a wide array of games-a virtual vault-that enables them to experience all sorts of thrills including role-playing, action, and also challenge games,” states Stuart Snyder, General Manager of GameTap.

In addition to being enjoyable, can playing these games truly advertise self-improvement? Hang on to your controllers: some researchers and social movie critics are currently suggesting that video pc gaming has its merits. It can speed reflexes, boost brainpowers and even minimize violence. While nobody is suggesting for a 24-hour diet of video clip games, lots of observers currently see some surprise values.

Think about research done at the University of Rochester in New York, which ended that young people who frequently played video clip games can improve their “video clip interest.” In one experiment, for instance, test subjects were asked to swiftly figure out whether a specific shape-a square or a diamond-appeared within among the six rings. Video clip players came out on top. The scientists claimed that computer game require players to at the same time handle a selection jobs, such as detecting and also tracking enemies, as well as preventing obtaining pain. Those game-playing abilities can translate right into more general visual abilities that relate to daily life.

” We often think about preferred society as a passive recreation, but there’s absolutely nothing passive regarding video clip games-they are the most interactive, requiring amusement medium ever created,” said Snyder. “If the GameTap staff of overachievers is any indication, computer game are an excellent method to learn exactly how to think on your feet.”

Simulation video games, where players style every little thing from roller coasters to cities, can obtain kids interested in mechanical design and urban preparation. Wrote author Steven Johnson: “My nephew would certainly be asleep in 5 seconds if you popped him down in an urban research studies classroom, but in some way a hr of playing ‘Sim City’ showed him that high tax rates in enterprise zones can stifle development.”

Johnson, the writer of “Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter,” has actually come to be a famous defender of video games. He has additionally gotten in the conflict over whether computer game advertise hostility, saying that criminal activity amongst adolescents as well as teenagers has actually stopped by almost two-thirds because 1975. Whether video games can take credit score is a matter of solid argument, however Johnson recommends that computer game might serve as a safety shutoff.

Video clip games may even have restorative value. Mark Griffiths, a professor at Nottingham Trent University in England, suggests that video clip games can assist sidetrack youngsters undergoing chemotherapy and treatment for sickle cell anemia. The video games may additionally function as physical treatment for arm injuries.

Like many scientists, Griffiths advocates moderation in video game play. “At GameTap, we love games, we’re submersed in them, and we’ve obtained hundreds to choose from.

The great information is Americans do not have to break the financial institution to play the video clip games they like. Turner Broadcasting System’s GameTap is one of the most current as well as best choices for consumers to get their game on and experience all the great things concerning games. The scientists stated that video games force gamers to at the same time manage a variety tasks, such as finding and also tracking enemies, and also avoiding getting hurt. Johnson, the author of “Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter,” has actually become a noticeable protector of video clip games. Whether video clip games can take credit history is an issue of strong dispute, but Johnson recommends that video games may act as a safety and security valve.

[junker-town]

Jared Pinkney can be a better Falcons TE than he was at Vandy

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Jared Pinkney’s junior season was full of highlights. His senior campaign, not so much.

Jared Pinkney didn’t hear his name called in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he was quickly signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent. Get to know more about him in our pre-draft profile.

When Jared Pinkney made the decision to forgo the NFL Draft following his junior season at Vanderbilt, there was no way the tight end could have known his senior year wasn’t going to be as fruitful as he had hoped.

Pinkney’s junior season found him snagging 50 receptions for 775 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards per catch. While the NFL was on his radar following that performance, Pinkney instead focused on coming back to the Commodores.

“There were things I felt I hadn’t accomplished yet, individually and as a team, that I felt we had an opportunity to accomplish,” he said at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Unfortunately, the Commodores’ offense staggered to a 3-9 finish in 2019, totaling just 2,064 yards through the air with 10 touchdowns. Pinkney grabbed 20 passes for 233 yards, averaging 11.7 per catch, and found the end zone just twice. All were career lows.

”It was a challenging time,” Pinkney said. “People ask and I’ll tell them, it’s a lesson and a time you can’t read about. You have to learn about firsthand. Dealing with adversity, controlling what you can control ... Performance-wise, I wasn’t able to play well enough.”

Although Pinkney was quick to point out his own struggles, he wasn’t getting as much help from his quarterback as he did his junior year, either. In 2018, Vanderbilt was led by Kyle Shurmur, who passed for 3,130 yards with a 62.6 percent completion rate. He threw for 24 touchdowns while being intercepted six times.

In 2019, the Commodores turned to senior quarterback Riley Neal, who had transferred from Ball State after four seasons. Neal never quite found the same rhythm he had shown with the Cardinals, having his second-worst season of his collegiate career with 1,585 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions.

With the Vanderbilt rushing game not posing a game-changing threat, the offense really didn’t find its footing.

Despite the difficulties, Pinkney said he never second-guessed his decision to stay.

“It’s football,” he said. “If you’re out there second-guessing and thinking and doubting, you’re going to get yourself hurt. So, I think, honestly, I didn’t allow myself, while I was in the game, to think about that kind of stuff.”

Pinkney wants to prove he can do more in the NFL than he did during his senior year

The statistics of his senior year tell a story of a reduced role in the Vanderbilt offense, and less production across the board. Pinkney said that’s the first thing teams have brought up during interviews. He said he discussed with them the fact he played through a wrist injury for most of the season, which kept him out of the final game of the year. Additionally, he admits his team just didn’t find the chemistry needed to put together a strong season.

”I just tell them that everything wasn’t able to come together,” Pinkney said. “And it’s unfortunate, but we were just never able to get off the ground. It was unfortunate. It sucked. But I think it was an important lesson, not only in my football development, but just life.”

Pinkney’s showing at the combine was a mixed bag. Despite running a 4.96-second 40-yard dash, he finished last out of the 17 tight ends who tested in the event. His bench press reps, however, were tied for second-best at 23. He didn’t test in the other parts of the combine.

At 6’4 and 257 pounds, Pinkney has solid size and good athleticism. His speed is quick enough to open up some routes and pick up yards after the catch. Still, Pinkney does see weaknesses in his game that he has focused on improving.

”I think my route creativity and savviness at the top of routes — giving head-fakes, giving a little bit of something on the way to them. Attacking them, getting them on their feet, things like that,” he said.

If playing at an H-back position, his ability to block on the move will also likely prove to be an asset, though analysts have questioned his ability to be a punishing run blocker at the line of scrimmage. But like with any career, Pinkney knows he has work to do in order to satisfy the expectations of his employers.

”I’m looking to show consistency and then as far as skills, that I offer versatility, doing multiple jobs at a high level,” he said. “And then things that I’m not good enough at, I’m willing to work to get to a level that’s acceptable for the clubs.”

A solid junior season at Vanderbilt showed Pinkney is capable of playing at a high level in a pass-first offense. But a senior season of less-than-anticipated results and an NFL Draft process stunted by the coronavirus pandemic will force teams to rely on his gametape and his combine results in order to get a feel for where he will fit in the NFL.

Pinkney is projected as one of three Vanderbilt players to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn was taken in the third round with the No. 76 pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Receiver Kalija Lipscomb should be a Day 3 pick like Pinkney. SB Nation’s Dan Kadar ranks Pinkney as the No. 137 player on his big board.

No matter when Pinkney hears his name called, he just wants teams to be aware he’s someone to be counted on, both in games and off the field.

”Just that I’m trustworthy,” Pinkney said about what teams should know about him. “And it’s not that I’ve had things in my past, but on the field, you can trust this guy with reps pass-blocking, run-blocking, reception routes, going out for passes. And then when he leaves the facility, you can turn your phone off at night. He’s not one that you have to worry about.

“But mainly, building trust in my teammates, the coaching staff and the organization that this is a good choice.”

[picpak]

A video tutorial released by Game Player's magazine that covers the Power Glove.

[games69websiteme]

Video Games Can Be Helpful For You

Johnson, the author of Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Todays Popular Culture Is Actually Making United States Smarter, has actually ended up being a popular protector of computer game. He has actually likewise gotten in the debate over whether computer game promote hostility, arguing that criminal offense amongst teenagers and teenagers has actually stopped by practically two-thirds because 1975. Whether computer game can take credit refers strong dispute, however Johnson recommends that computer game might serve as a security valve. 

   Think about research study done at the University of Rochester in New York, which concluded that young grownups who regularly played video games can enhance their video attention. The scientists stated that video games require gamers to concurrently manage a range jobs, such as identifying and tracking opponents, and preventing getting hurt. 

   Turner produced GameTap since they desired players to have a wide array of games-a virtual vault-that enables them to experience all kinds of delights consisting of role-playing, action, and puzzle video games, states Stuart Snyder, General Manager of GameTap. 

   Simulation video games, where gamers style whatever from roller rollercoasters to cities, can get kids thinking about mechanical engineering and metropolitan preparation. Composed author Steven Johnson: My nephew would be asleep in 5 seconds if you popped him down in a metropolitan research studies class, however in some way an hour of playing Sim City taught him that high tax rates in enterprise zones can suppress advancement. 

   In addition to being enjoyable, can playing these video games truly promote self-improvement? While no one is arguing for a 24-hour diet plan of video games, numerous observers now see some concealed worths. 

   Fortunately is Americans do not need to spend a lot to play the computer game they enjoy. Turner Broadcasting Systems GameTap is among the most recent and biggest alternatives for customers to get their video game on and experience all the good ideas about video games. The very first of its kind broadband home entertainment network, GameTap (www.gametap.com) uses numerous the best video games throughout several platforms for an inexpensive $14.95 monthly. 

   Computer game might even have healing worth. Mark Griffiths, a teacher at Nottingham Trent University in England, argues that computer game can assist sidetrack kids going through chemotherapy and treatment for sickle cell anemia. The video games might likewise work as physical treatment for arm injuries. 

   Like lots of scientists, Griffiths promotes small amounts in video game play. At GameTap, we enjoy video games, were immersed in them, and weve got hundreds to pick from. 

   Countless Americans take pleasure in video games-for the adrenaline rush, the friendship, the competitors, and the opportunity to end up being a dominating traveler, a minimum of in a virtual world. 

   We often consider pop culture as a passive entertainment, however theres absolutely nothing passive about video games-they are the most interactive, requiring home entertainment medium ever produced, stated Snyder. If the GameTap personnel of overachievers is any sign, computer game are an excellent method to discover how to believe on your feet.

[retrocgads]

USA 1990

[flauntpage]

Watch Vintage Footage of Doris Burke Slaying it in HS Basketball

It's impossible to not love Doris Burke. She's got just about the sharpest commentary in the game, an encyclopedic knowledge of both women's and men's basketball, and she even once obtained the NBA sideline reporter holy grail: making Gregg Popovich smile during an interview.

But prior to her time as a broadcaster—and even prior to her Hall of Fame-winning career at Providence College—she used to hoop extra hard in high school. She was known as Doris Sable at the time and attended Manasquan High School in New Jersey, and absolutely worked the opposing teams.

As part of their series on Burke, NJ.com released some footage from her high school days and just take a look at her gametape from 1983 in the Shore Conference tournament. (There are two games here: first game is against St. John Vianney in the semifinal, and then the win against Lakewood in the final.)

Just look at the finesse—the steals, the casual assists, taking on five players at a time. She's confident at the top of the key, taking it down low, and shooting from the hip. The commentator nails it when he says, "she don't miss." Sure, 16 points by the third quarter (in the first game) seems kind of whatever in most lengths of game. But when the score is 40-38 by that point? She's carrying this team. Her finals appearance was just as strong, when Manasquan handily snatched the title from Lakewood.

Sure, you sit slack-jawed in wonder when she exhibits her handles in heels nowadays, but you don't know the half of it.

Watch Vintage Footage of Doris Burke Slaying it in HS Basketball published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[lorriemelancon9-blog]

Play All The Latest Newly Purchased Car Computer Games Instantly

The Java Mobile Games are used to entertain people with the latest in games. These technologically superior games are used for entertainment purposes. The Java games belong to every category that includes action, adventure, arcade, card, simulation, racing, puzzle and lots more. The java games can be installed in a computer, mobile phone or a gaming console. The compatibility of playing games increases the efficiency of such gadgets. These games can be easily downloaded from the internet once the devices are connected to the net. People can easily surf the net and visit several websites to download files from the internet. The java mobile games are high definition ones and can be played on mobile phones. Such games can easily be installed on mobiles. These games can also be transferred from one mobile to another or downloaded directly from the net. The icons displayed while playing the games have absolutely reasonable resolution and they get displayed as shadows and bright icons. Moreover, the games are supported by unique and informative content and that allows the users to keep track of every phase of the game that is being played. Moreover, the games are given attractive tiles that allows the users to search for their favourite games very easily. These games can also be installed in devices that do not have large memory support. This makes the java mobile games more compatible to be used for entertainment purposes. Laptops, desktop computers and other gadgets can be utilised for playing the java games. However, a good resolution screen enhances the gaming experience. Such games are available free of cost and are offered by several websites. It is a good source of entertainment and people can make use of it in their leisure time for entertainment reasons. The user finds joy in their lives and can get rid of tensions by playing these games. They actually serve as a stress buster. When it is to be downloaded from the internet, the user finds the option to visit several websites and choose the best game.

Now, just about every person of you will most certainly be privileged enough and play the variable versions of this game each bright immense excitement and thrill captivating great enough to keep the person glued to its screen. You probably will find number of websites and the are making these facilities of truck games. You would likely learn a great deal more about that games yourself play as well as well exactly as where then you can obtain them. Practice offers a numerous potentialities for we to improve your certification. Companies can get a hold of pleasure from it courtesy of - selecting the color, theme and construction with any truck with shod and non-shod with it's actually engine along with springs. The more most major aspects using human life are- educational services and related information. You'll can now have fun with the games because of friends and husband or wife at home. Kids usually are not obligated to devote a nickel to use them. Relating to these competitions the the majority played just that give truck games. The software is kind of easy on the way to get a site the fact that offers associated with by carring out a simple search on your the internet. Whilst many repair needs any kind of to place the motor vehicle inside predesigned parking region inside the latest limited deal of time, others does require anybody to pretty much park a person's car without ever damaging it, having suitable limit. The web should becoming inviting where it is without question loaded and high features that graphics and create your own hospitable home where users can run with a smile towards their undertake. There are varieties most typically associated with truck games on the website and which means one also can choose the exact one that suits him/her properly. New-found players have to have a little bit practice until now getting related into genuine and more competitve truck games online for free. Require out your new research equally soon once possible time for ensure which unfortunately the website page you carry selected is normally reputable and also trustworthy. There could be different variants of their games the fact that give an exciting choice to our players. You wouldn't have virtually any chance to be able to get bored to tears as any kind of a variety of them are available. This casino game let's your entire family assume their role concerning a examiner who's ever been on one particular trail of most a bombing suspect. Some among them a lot than others, but our own most fundamental parameter a number of us consider when uploading every game that would our websites is the overall compared to experience attached to the user. One reaches to know their man or women personal resolution and guts as very. Virtually the many popular games is NFS, or Ought to For Speed up. To be a little more able to get in order to really the success edge distinct has indeed be completely concentrated. Trucks are almost always fun with challenging simply because they can outrun supercars and competition other pickup trucks. Your organization race toward other opponents, machine also real players, and you need of win all all. Every one game often is unique and so provides the particular variety associated with challenges with drivers. All right. Enough is enough. We've been inundated with requests for Christmas gifts for guys, mostly from women who don't understand the men in their lives. We're going to lay it out to you right here, gals, and it's not going to be pretty. What it will be is direct, practical and effective. To answer this, we went and did the unthinkable. We asked guys what they'd always wished their girlfriends or lady friends had given them. Now, all identities have been changed to preserve the guilty... and unlike similar things you'll find in Cosmo, these aren't "filtered by what we expect a dream guy to be". Nor are they the gift guides from Maxim or FHM - though they're closer to that than anything else. In particular, don't be expecting your guy to get this as some sort of subtle relationship signal. Guys don't think like that. Guys are direct, think that pickup lines like "That dress should be in a pile on my bedroom floor" is subtle, and think playing Halo 3 together on the couch is at least as good as a movie date. And you know what? We really, honestly, wouldn't them any other way. So, the next question to ask: Is your guy a geek? If so, he's probably made your life a lot easier. You don't have to be a geekette to figure out what he wants. Go rifling through his video game collection some night when he's in the bathroom, listen to what some of his friends are geeking out over, and keep mental notes - is there a game that's getting good word of mouth buzz that he doesn't have yet? Your shopping list just got a lot easier. If you're worried about him getting that game from someone else, get him a GameTap subscription. Now, be warned - if you get him the Uber Game Of The Year, you don't get "whining privileges". Guys will obsess about these things until they finish them; really, it's the outlet for the same kind of thinking that brought food back to the cave when it was mastodon season. Does your guy like sports? Either as a watcher or as a participant? If he's a watcher, and he's got a cable package or DirecTV, see if there's a network package or satellite package to let him get the games he wants to see. If there's a professional team he follows, assorted fan gear is usually safe... and admit it. Sprawling on his couch wearing a sports jersey for him to keep and your intimate underthings would certainly spice things up. (Feel free to tie a ribbon around yourself in strategic places to get the hint that he should be unwrapping you, too... ) If he likes to play sports, you're going to have to do a bit more research on what sports he likes, and here, as with the computer game examples, talking to his buddies and doing a bit of Google searching are your friends. Is your guy good with his hands? This one takes a bit of research as well. Nothing is as much of a disaster as being the only chick checking out power tools at Lowe's. You'll get patronized - not deliberately insulting, but patronized. Here's where you recruit one of his buddies to be your "shopping escort" - preferably one who works on guy projects with him. Remember, it doesn't have to be the spiffiest tool on the rack, it has to be one he'll actually use, and appreciate using. Same applies to buying car parts, or car accessories, or most electronics gadgets. Lastly, one thing that nearly every guy likes is looking at half naked to naked girls. Yeah, yeah. We know, he's with you, and he doesn't need to look any more. Get real. He'll look - the trick is to remind him that looking is OK so long as he never wanders, and a good way to do that is a subscription to a pinup site. And trust us, he'll remember that you bought him that subscription for a very long time. Two tasteful ones are MET-ART and DOMAI - you can Google for exact URLs.

[symbianosgames]

The folks at Humble Bundle this week expanded their Humble Monthly game subscription service to include a library of games subscribers can access whenever they want: the Humble Trove.

It's another brick in the foundation of an argument that "games on demand" subscription services are viable, something Turner Broadcasting notably tried over 12 years ago with GameTap. While GameTap effectively petered out by 2010, in recent years the likes of Electronic Arts, Sony,  and Microsoft have all launched their own game subscription services.

Humble's $12/month version expands upon its Monthly service, which would send subscribers a mystery pack of games every month, by offering up access to a library of DRM-free games, including Humble-funded games (or "Humble Originals") that are only available on Humble's platform. 

The Humble Trove is currently in beta, and games in its catalog are only available to active subscribers. However, since they're made available as DRM-free downloads, it appears that games downloaded from the Trove will be playable even if a player's subscription lapses.

[junker-town]

Jared Pinkney can be a better NFL TE than he was at Vandy

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Jared Pinkney’s junior season was full of highlights. His senior campaign, not so much.

When Jared Pinkney made the decision to forgo the NFL Draft following his junior season at Vanderbilt, there was no way the tight end could have known his senior year wasn’t going to be as fruitful as he had hoped.

Pinkney’s junior season found him snagging 50 receptions for 775 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 15.5 yards per catch. While the NFL was on his radar following that performance, Pinkney instead focused on coming back to the Commodores.

“There were things I felt I hadn’t accomplished yet, individually and as a team, that I felt we had an opportunity to accomplish,” he said at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Unfortunately, the Commodores’ offense staggered to a 3-9 finish in 2019, totaling just 2,064 yards through the air with 10 touchdowns. Pinkney grabbed 20 passes for 233 yards, averaging 11.7 per catch, and found the end zone just twice. All were career lows.

”It was a challenging time,” Pinkney said. “People ask and I’ll tell them, it’s a lesson and a time you can’t read about. You have to learn about firsthand. Dealing with adversity, controlling what you can control ... Performance-wise, I wasn’t able to play well enough.”

Although Pinkney was quick to point out his own struggles, he wasn’t getting as much help from his quarterback as he did his junior year, either. In 2018, Vanderbilt was led by Kyle Shurmur, who passed for 3,130 yards with a 62.6 percent completion rate. He threw for 24 touchdowns while being intercepted six times.

In 2019, the Commodores turned to senior quarterback Riley Neal, who had transferred from Ball State after four seasons. Neal never quite found the same rhythm he had shown with the Cardinals, having his second-worst season of his collegiate career with 1,585 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions.

With the Vanderbilt rushing game not posing a game-changing threat, the offense really didn’t find its footing.

Despite the difficulties, Pinkney said he never second-guessed his decision to stay.

“It’s football,” he said. “If you’re out there second-guessing and thinking and doubting, you’re going to get yourself hurt. So, I think, honestly, I didn’t allow myself, while I was in the game, to think about that kind of stuff.”

Pinkney wants to prove he can do more in the NFL than he did during his senior year

The statistics of his senior year tell a story of a reduced role in the Vanderbilt offense, and less production across the board. Pinkney said that’s the first thing teams have brought up during interviews. He said he discussed with them the fact he played through a wrist injury for most of the season, which kept him out of the final game of the season. Additionally, he admits his team just didn’t find the chemistry needed to put together a strong season.

”I just tell them that everything wasn’t able to come together,” Pinkney said. “And it’s unfortunate, but we were just never able to get off the ground. It was unfortunate. It sucked. But I think it was an important lesson, not only in my football development, but just life.”

Pinkney’s showing at the combine was a mixed bag. Despite running a 4.96-second 40-yard dash, he finished last out of the 17 tight ends who tested in the event. His bench press reps, however, were tied for second-best at 23. He didn’t test in the other parts of the combine.

At 6’4 and 257 pounds, Pinkney has solid size and good athleticism. His speed is quick enough to open up some routes and pick up yards after the catch. Still, Pinkney does see weaknesses in his game that he has focused on improving.

”I think my route creativity and savviness at the top of routes — giving head-fakes, giving a little bit of something on the way to them. Attacking them, getting them on their feet, things like that,” he said.

If playing at an H-back position, his ability to block on the move will also likely prove to be an asset, though analysts have questioned his ability to be a punishing run blocker at the line of scrimmage. But like with any career, Pinkney knows he has work to do in order to satisfy the expectations of his employers.

”I’m looking to show consistency and then as far as skills, that I offer versatility, doing multiple jobs at a high level,” he said. “And then things that I’m not good enough at, I’m willing to work to get to a level that’s acceptable for the clubs.”

A solid junior season at Vanderbilt showed Pinkney is capable of playing at a high level in a pass-first offense. But a senior season of less-than-anticipated results and an NFL Draft process stunted by the coronavirus pandemic will force teams to rely on his gametape and his combine results in order to get a feel for where he will fit in the NFL.

Pinkney is projected as one of three Vanderbilt players to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn was taken in the third round with the No. 76 pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Receiver Kalija Lipscomb should be a Day 3 pick like Pinkney. SB Nation’s Dan Kadar ranks Pinkey as the No. 137 player on his big board.

No matter when Pinkney hears his name called, he just wants teams to be aware he’s someone to be counted on, both in games and off the field.

”Just that I’m trustworthy,” Pinkney said about what teams should know about him. “And it’s not that I’ve had things in my past, but on the field, you can trust this guy with reps pass-blocking, run-blocking, reception routes, going out for passes. And then when he leaves the facility, you can turn your phone off at night. He’s not one that you have to worry about.

“But mainly, building trust in my teammates, the coaching staff and the organization that this is a good choice.”

[mistoffelees2017-blog]

Ball (2012)

Ball (2012)

Lester, the star player of their community basketball team who dreams of playing at the country's premier league, but encounters a problem on the way to PBA (Philippine Basketball Association). He meets Pandy (Arnel Ignacio), a couturier who is smitten by Lester's looks. Pandy becomes the team's manager and helps him become part of the college's varsity team. Pandy is obviously in love with Lester, a straight guy devoted to his childhood sweetheart Denise (Sofia Valdez). Lester is at a loss when Pandy's love for him turns into an obsession.

Try eight more:

Mr. Leon (1982)

Game Player's Gametape for Nintendo Cartridges - Vol. 1, No. 9: The Power Glove (1990)

Savage Sam (1963)

Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977)

Basically, Johnny Moped (2013)

Terror's Advocate (2007)

An Attempt to Describe the Measure of a Man (1977)

Dandelions by the Roots (1964)

[symbianosgames]

The folks at Humble Bundle this week expanded their Humble Monthly game subscription service to include a library of games subscribers can access whenever they want: the Humble Trove.

It's another brick in the foundation of an argument that "games on demand" subscription services are viable, something Turner Broadcasting notably tried over 12 years ago with GameTap. While GameTap effectively petered out by 2010, in recent years the likes of Electronic Arts, Sony,  and Microsoft have all launched their own game subscription services.

Humble's $12/month version expands upon its Monthly service, which would send subscribers a mystery pack of games every month, by offering up access to a library of DRM-free games, including Humble-funded games (or "Humble Originals") that are only available on Humble's platform. 

The Humble Trove is currently in beta, and games in its catalog are only available to active subscribers. However, since they're made available as DRM-free downloads, it appears that games downloaded from the Trove will be playable even if a player's subscription lapses.

[symbianosgames]

Game Developer magazine's Brandon Sheffield reflects on what designers can learn from their first video game loves. (Originally printed in Game Developer's March issue, available now.)

They say you're forever dating your first love. Not literally, of course, but the early patterns set by your first relationship, and the relationships of your parents, tend to strongly influence how you approach love and relationships for many years to come.

I wonder: Is the same true for games? Do those early games we played in our formative years influence what we now perceive as "good" and "bad" in interactive media? Do they influence how we design games? I submit that they may.

Let's think about a series like Dark Souls/Demon's Souls. These games are punishing, require rather exacting inputs from players, and have somewhat fiddly controls that require getting used to. That sounds like a nice recipe for a failure stew. So why did these games succeed?

One of the praises you often see from reviewers is that the series reminds them of the glory days of Japanese console and arcade games, which were built with much the same recipe. It's like a new love affair with an old flame - the same problems as always, yet sweetly, lovingly familiar. Japanese publication Dengeki said of Demon's Souls, "Fans of old-school games will shed tears of joy." IGN reviewer Sam Bishop echoed the sentiment, saying, "Those that can remember the good ol' days when games taught through the highly effective use of intense punishment and a heavy price for not playing it carefully should scoop this up instantly."

But what about people who didn't grow up with that experience? What about those who are more used to frequent checkpoints, and the game providing a full experience to blaze through in one go, rather than in halting steps? For them, the game is a harder sell, which is why Sony passed on publishing Demon's Souls in the West, and core-oriented niche publisher Atlus had to step up and do it instead.

For Demon's Souls, its link to the past helped it succeed. But perhaps the reverse can also happen: Our personal game heritages could, at times, make us slaves to our past interests. For example, I tend to like games that are interesting, but flawed. To me, a glitch in an otherwise super-polished Call of Duty is extremely glaring and illusion-shattering, but I'll happily forgive poor graphics and the occasional invisible wall in a game like Nier, which stabs out in all directions with new ideas. If a game tries hard to do something different, I'll forgive its faults - and if I want to be a designer who makes games that are good at making money, this preference for different-but-flawed could hold me back from making games with commercial appeal.

With this thought in mind, I decided to dissect my own past as a player to see what influence it might have had on my current interests.

My history is a bit odd - I went from the 2600 and Intellivision (which were already old when I got them, but they were affordable!), to the TurboGrafx-16, which I saved up for months to afford. And this is the console that informed my early days as a player of games.

The Valis series, for example, is not very well known, but I played it to death. It's an action, platforming, hack-and-slash affair that stars a high school girl, out to save the world, with a sword taking on a horde of monsters. Pretty standard fare for the 1990s.

You could jump, perform a sword attack, use magic (and could power up both of these attacks), walk, and roll. I replayed Valis III recently, and I noticed something about those rolls that may have influenced my current interests and design habits. Rolling allows the player to travel for a set distance, both under obstacles and across gaps. But this distance is such that, at times, beginning a roll just a few pixels one way or the other means life or death in a difficult platforming section. On top of that, the platforms themselves can occasionally have dressings that don't count as area you can stand on.

This is most likely something one would want to avoid in the modern era, because it feels like the game has tricked you, when you've clearly made the roll visually, but it's counted as a death. Less obvious, though, is the triumph you feel after defeating that particularly difficult section. It's as though you've succeeded in spite of the game's efforts to thwart you. You are actually fighting against the game itself, which we're generally told not to do - but in a modern game like Demon's Souls, it makes the thrill of victory that much more compelling.

There is a lesson here for me as a designer: I can sometimes focus too much on making things smooth for a player in the immediate term, versus their long-term experience.

I won't bore you with my history as a player, but revisiting these old game-loves continually revealed patterns in my current thinking. For instance, Bonk's Revenge's somewhat mystical and alchemic systems helped drive me to chase the elusive beast that is emergent gameplay in a simple game world. But is that my white whale? That pursuit has, at times, led to feature bloat (which is exactly what happened in the subsequent Bonk installment, incidentally).

Just to make sure I wasn't the only one who's influenced by his past, I asked my friends Tim Rogers of Action Button Entertainment and Frank Cifaldi of Gamasutra.com, with whom I record a weekly podcast (which is also called insert credit), to talk a bit about their formative games, and found them similarly branded by past experience.

For Cifaldi, it was The Secret of Monkey Island, which gave him the first glimpse of a full, living interactive game world. This colored his interest in games for years to come; when he was young, he made adventure games in HyperCard, and later, when he was working at GameTap, he made an interactive community adventure game called Captain McGrandpa.

Rogers, meanwhile, thinks Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best game ever made. SMB3 is very much about precision and timing of jumps and reactions, but also about secrets - warps, hidden passageways, and coin boxes in the sky. It's no wonder, then, that the first game he directed (ZiGGURAT for iOS) is a deceptively simple game about timing, precision, and nothing else - aside from the occasional secret.

For your human relationship problems, you can go to a therapist - but they'll just reflect back what you already know. I highly recommend you take a self-analysis approach to your game history. Going back and dissecting those early learnings can help you grow past your earliest ideas of what a game is, or can be, because while most lessons will be good, some will be bad as well.

The musical platformer Sound Shapes is an interesting case study: If you read the postmortem in the December 2012 issue of Game Developer, you'll see that the game's mastermind, Jon Mak, said, "I don't like platformers, or level editors, but in the back of my mind they made sense." He also added, "That was a thing that we learned: We couldn't achieve our design goals with what we would do naturally."

So here is an example of developers playing against their type, and against their early imprint. This worked well, and brought Sound Shapes to critical acclaim, and many IGF nominations. But at the same time, is it any wonder that (sorry, Jon) the game just doesn't feel like a solid platformer? It feels like an interactive music toy where platforming happens to be the mechanic to drive progress. Without the music element, this would not be a loving homage to the platforming genre.

There are lessons in our past for all of us. Try it out on yourself; think about the first game that really grabbed you. Maybe it's the first game that compelled you to keep coming back, aiming for a perfect score; maybe it's the first game that made you feel like games were a living world; maybe it's the first game that let you play against another player.

Revisit these games with new eyes. While playing them, think about the jump distances for platformers, or how you start a drift in a racing game, and how long that drift lasts. Think about the level progression in RPGs, or the score multipliers in a shooter. How has your current work reinforced those old ideas? How have they strayed? Should you be more critical of those old ideas? It's an interesting exercise which can yield some surprising results. Even if you don't come away with something practical, you may have an easier time explaining why you prefer to sink hours into Minecraft over Skyrim - or the reverse.

The kids of today expect autosaving, persistence, checkpoints, and massive interactivity on a Minecraft scale. And they're not wrong to expect it! That's what they grew up with, and that is to some extent the future of entertainment. But when they grow up, what will they expect from games? What will their first love affair teach them to love and hate?

Getting closer to the now, what about kids who grew up with the Nintendo 64? The precise magic of GoldenEye 64 has never been properly revisited. What of a child who grew up with the Dreamcast? Is anyone serving her needs?

I'm not suggesting we need to mine the past and prey on nostalgia. But attempting to serve similar experiences to those people felt in their youth - in new and modern products - can be a valuable goal. Nobody wants to play a new game that's exactly like GoldenEye 64. They want to play a game that feels like how they remember GoldenEye 64 at the time they were playing it. With a little self-analysis, and a careful study of these bygone eras of games, you might just get at that mystical and elusive feeling.