As part of my normal Kwanzoo duties, I’ve been doing some thinking about what games appeal to what types of people.
There’s some games that really ought to be awful, if you’re looking at it from a pure gameplay perspective. Maybe the game mechanics are broken as heck. Maybe stuff is done sloppily. You can see the bones of the game poking through its skin, as it were. But for some reason, they wind up being great to a certain type of person, just because of the sheer amount of exploration of a virtual world you can do.
It may only be Week 16 of the NFL season, but you might as well consider it a preview of the playoffs. There are several interesting AFC-NFC matchups (Ravens @ Cowboys & Cardinals @ Patriots), however, somehow, someway, the schedule maker has the No. 1- and 2-ranked AFC and NFC teams facing each other.
Although I’m pinning Carolina-New York as the Game of the Week, the Pittsburgh-Tennessee has just as much significance on the line.
Those of you with a Netflix instant queue, sit up and take notice! When it comes to streaming entire movies on the interwebs, there are certain licensing issues that must be accounted for. And unfortunately, due to these, many of Netflix’s instantly-available titles won’t be instantly available after New Year’s. So those of you who’ve been letting your instant queue sit dormant, get on it! There’s a sell-by date!
Those of you who haven’t yet discovered the joy and wonder of Netflix’s instant queue yet, you really should think about it. Sure, regular Netflix is great too. There’s nothing quite like being able to rent movies in your pajamas (although you might want to bundle up before heading to the mailbox). But what’s even better than having your picks from a massive selection of popular and obscure DVDs to your door? Why, not having to wait 1-5 business days, of course!
This week we’ve landed an interview with the artist behind the unique look of such games as Psychonauts and the upcoming Brütal Legend. As always, we’ll let him introduce himself.
Scott: I’m Scott Campbell, art director at Double Fine Productions. I also make comics and paintings!
Celebrity-centric blogs fill a gigantic hole in our society: we are hungry for up-to-the-minute updates about our favorite idols in music, film, television, and sports. It keeps us entertained, makes us feel good about ourselves, and ensures that we have something to discuss over the water cooler or the dinner table. As a celebrity blogger, you couldn’t be in a better business. There’s just one problem: there are too many other blogs vying for your readers’ attention.
As you are no doubt aware, competition is fierce. The only way to get ahead is to offer something that other blogs can’t; given the sheer numbers you’re up against, this can be difficult. With entertainment giants like TMZ always on the front lines, it takes a lot to be the first to break a story. And even if you have a witty, unique voice, you’re probably looking for more ways to keep your users coming back. So what can you do?
We’ve told you about what Kwanzoo is doing with WhatTheyPlay and Glam Media. Let’s take a look at what we’re doing with web-based instant communications company Meebo.com.
Meebo lets people IM from a web browser, supporting everything from the standard AOL Instant Messenger and Google Talk to Jabber and ICQ. The Meebo leaderboard ad unit runs at the bottom of the IM window.
Heading into Week 15, the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans both held the best records in their respective conferences. However, they both fell as victims to divisional rivals on the road.
AFC: The Titans should have won this week against the Houston Texans, but head coach Jeff Fisher sure blew it for them. On fourth-and-three, with a score of 13-12 in favor of the Texans, there is no way in hell he should (although he did) have tried to pick up the first down, especially since long distance field goal-kicking specialist Rob Bironas was sitting on the sidelines. Bironas, a 2007 Pro Bowler, is almost a lock to nail any kick over 40 yards. It almost seems as if the further he goes, the better he gets.
Back when “The Simpsons” was just a short on the Tracey Ullman show, nobody could have predicted that it would end up being such a long-running, critically acclaimed, and influential show. Now, decades later, when “The Simpsons” makes a statement, people sit up and take notice. And the recent episode “Mypods and Boomsticks” was no exception. Thanks to Hulu, you can just watch the whole thing right here:
We’ve had lots of good games this year, but we’ve had some disappointments too. Mirror’s Edge had more guys with guns than was good for it instead of smooth parkour action. Spore turned out to be an great creature creature with a mediocre metagame built around it.
Letdowns go with the video game hype machine, and even veteran players call it wrong sometimes. Here’s a few games that have stuck with me as being memorably disappointing. They aren’t the worst, but they’ve made it to the list for not living up to their potential.
GAME OF THE WEEK: The only two real teams in the AFC North (Pittsburgh Steelers 10-3, Baltimore Ravens 9-4) will square off Sunday in Baltimore for a showdown that could determine which of the two teams is crowned the divisional champ in two weeks.
Earlier in the season, the Steelers survived a 23-20 overtime battle against the Ravens on a 46-yard Jeff Reed field goal.
As part of my normal Kwanzoo duties, I’ve been doing some thinking about what games appeal to what types of people.
This week we’ve landed an interview with the artist behind the unique look of such games as 
We’ve told you about what Kwanzoo is doing with 
Letdowns go with the video game hype machine, and even veteran players call it wrong sometimes. Here’s a few games that have stuck with me as being memorably disappointing. They aren’t the worst, but they’ve made it to the list for not living up to their potential.
