durbn.net

Well I'll start by whetting your appetites a little and rewind back to the good old days of SWG. It really has been the only game that had appeal to our entire community. I vividly remember the lot of us hanging around Naboo outside the bar planning raids on Imperial installations, our eventual settlement on Tattooine near the Krayyt Pass, and hours of T Flag Achorhead action. (not to mention my "spider incident" while I was out hunting with Cobou). Good memories, which could have continued if the game hadn't been so poorly expanded. (and then later deflated to it's current pacman state)

Well it seems Bioware is taking up the latest Lucasarts torch and bringing their popular Old Republic franchise to the MMO stage. Although I think the games directions are going to be quite different (apparently SWTOR is very story oriented, much like LOTRO) I'm a sucker for good SW content, combine that with a MMO sandbox setting, and Biowares reputation for great games I think this one should be a hit. So I think it's time to dust off my speederbike, recharge my blaster pistol, and start paying down my debt to Kaelas (you dirty smuggler). Oh and maybe get some payback with Cobou...

Check it out. Star Wars: The Old Republic
[Submitted by lowbyte]

I wouldn't call myself a flaming red Republican, but I have always leaned towards the conservative side of the spectrum in any political contest. I attest that primarily to my upbringing, and secondly to my pigheaded nature of never being wrong. However, I stumbled upon this little endorsement today that was both intellectual and compelling. If more pundits presented their side with a more balanced argument, rather then claiming that the other side has dragons in their basement, I might be more easily convinced. That being said, if I could vote in this election (I am a Canadian, unfortunately) I would be voting for Senator Obama.

Stolen fair and square from the Chicago Tribune.

[Submitted by Dustin Reimer]

pre-script: This post is going to be all over the place... just a heads up.
I really need to get on this whole update bandwagon... so anyway, it's half way through October and where has the time gone. School is still chugging along for both Laura and I, some of it is going well... some of it could be going better :P Between school, work and being a parent to the cutest little boy on the face of the planet... which reminds me hear is a gratuitous cute picture...I am finding time here and there to pursue at least one or two of my hobbies... in fact just today Brother Hamish and I brewed up a couple batches of homebrew, a Pumpkin Ale with a whopping 30oz of pumpkin in it, and a Happy Holiday Ale which is generously spiced with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. I'll let you know how those turn out in about 2 months or so.A couple of weekends ago Comrade Mikhail and myself toured out to Riding Mountain National Park for a weekend of hiking and enjoying the remnants of summer before the bitter cold sets in... all in all I hiked close to 30kms, and 20 of the that 30 was with 20kgs on my back. We saw a moose and an elkand signs of bear were everywhere, though thankfully we didn't run into any.














Here is a list of things that I have been thinking about lately:-Vermicomposting-Earth Sheltered or Underground Architecture-The collection and study of Fungi and Lichens-Eastern Religions and how they pertain to my walk with Jesus-Leaving Manitoba... sights set on the Eastern coast of either Canada or the USA-Food Histories and how the comsumption of food or lack there of affected immigration to America
post script: here is more cuteness... cause you can never get enough cute :)

Just in case you weren't insane enough yet.

(yeah, it's really quiet, so turn it up!)

Okay, you don\'t need any other website ever again, because now you can find out how to beat up anything. Includes tactics on defeating B.A. Baracus, The Batman, and beloved actor Tom Hanks.

Ok, I expect everyone to vote for this a few dozen times. Nothing like Rick Rolling an entire country.

MTV Europe People's Choice Award

Do your part. Help promote a good cause.

Last night was the first of five classes titled “Introduction to Game Design”.  It was a reasonably good first start, although I’m still adjusting to how to pace the course material.  Hopefully those who attended enjoyed themselves and learned something new.

I hadn’t made proper handout in time, so here are links to the (optional) readings that I assigned.

Common Game Prototyping Pitfalls
How to Prototype a Game in Under 7 Days
Iterative Design
Affordances and Design

We ended the class by playing through a round of GameGame 2.0, a card game that aims to teach players what the core elements of a game design are.  It also makes for an interesting brainstorming tool, as over the course of the game you have to take the cards you’ve collected and translate them into a pitch for a new game concept.  It was pretty successful and the students did a great job of making things up on the spot.  I don’t think GameGame alone does a perfect job at outlining the elements that make up a game design, but it’s close enough that it can be used to augment a more detailed discussion.

      

It\'s tragic when kids turn to selling chocolate to make a living.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

forums
[Submitted by lowbyte]

[Submitted by Dustin Reimer]

Watch more CS Source Videos

The guys from Mythbusters were at the recent Nvidia conference, and demonstrated the difference between a single threaded device, and a multi-threaded device. Lets just say they manage to paint the Mona Lisa in 80 milliseconds.

[Submitted by Dustin Reimer]

I think everyone needs to watch this movie.
http://www.deathracemovie.net/index.php



[Submitted by fodebeed]