holy smokes, only one more glum to program (along with a teeny bit more art and behavioral/mechanical design for it), and they'll all be wrapped up.  so, so, so, the only major components remaining will be:

- the game's brief interactive scenario setup and conclusion
- save system
- tying it all together into a smooth structure and flow

then, it's officially on to a super-heavy beta period until it's all pearly and pleasant for players :D

fitting timing, as feb. 15th will be the official 3-year anniversary of the day that i began tinkering with the very first mechanics prototype.

I saw it when i chased
a firefly beyond
the gurgle of the brook
the ripple of the pond

My eyes were locked in wonder
I couldn't even blink
My muscles wouldn't move
My brain refused to think

That moment I'll remember
I never will forget
But, I can't recall quite clearly
The figure that I met

I now, however, know the truth
about what lies beyond
the gurgle of the brook
The ripple of the pond

if you live in the ode yoo ess of ay, then you're both lucky and smart - because you can land yourself four joyous, squishy handfuls of play-doh fo free!  check it out (top middle click add thing)!

http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=2255956

and, if you don't live in the states, then what the heck are you waiting for?  c'mon free play-doh, baby!

(btw, dropped this in the blog section so that the whole world could see the joyous news)

we got a wii for the studio last weekend, but i'm wondering if it is working correctly.
when we play games, the response doesn't seem to sync up perfectly.  it's wierd, because at the wii channel interface, everything is spot on control wise.  but, the games just seem a bit laggy and as if they miss positional input or something.

i recieved a wii as a gift myself, too.  but, i haven't even opened it because i don't have any games for it.  so, i can't make any comparisons to the one here at the studio.

for anyone else who got a wii up in here - are you having a similar experience with games?
maybe we have sensor bar problems or something (which seems odd since the wii channels work perfectly fine)?
or, maybe i just expected it to work differently or something, and it is in fact doing what it's supposed to do?

i know this isn't really a blog entry (heck, i don't even know how to blog), but i couldn't really determine a more relevant section to plop this in.

i'd like to kick start a post mortem reflection on the recent halloween collab, Jack-O!

for those who don't know what a post mortem is, it's basically a free-form reflection on how those involved percieved the entire experience of the project - the process of creating it, along with the final creation itself.

the main goal of a post mortem is to generate a knowledge and learning base for future projects.  a history lesson, of sorts.

there's no real format requirement other than trying to maintain a point form factor (i.e. collected bullet point statements rather than long expositions).

(i'll be dropping my own thoughts on the following matters in the next few days, too)

so, for those who took part:

- what do you feel went right about the creative process?

- what are some of the things that can be done to carry such successes into future projects?

- what do you feel went wrong about the creative process?

- what could be done in the future to improve upon any of the aforementioned shortcomings?

and, for those who both took part, and also those who did not but have played with Jack-O!:

- what do you feel are the strengths of the finished creation?

- how can the concepts behind these strengths be carried over into future creations?

- what do you feel are the weaknesses of the finished creation?

- what could be done to mitigate similar weaknesses in future creations?