Author Archives: Dan Thurot
Long Walks on the Beach: Dear Esther
One of the many poignant images from Dear Esther.
I’m having a hard time pinning down Dear Esther. After reading a few other opinion pieces, reviews, and theories, I think the feeling is mutual. Which is fine, since I suspect that’s exactly what creator Dan Pinchbeck was going for.
So I’ll put it this way: what does a fatal car crash, a syphilitic goatherd, a blinking radio aerial, a navy of paper boats, and a stunning cave create when combined? Answer: I have no idea. But it’s interesting all the same.
Upcoming: Runewars Mega
The human Daqan Lords face off against the Uthuk Y'llan barbarians.
Loyal Space-Biff! readers (both of you!) may have noticed that the number of articles has declined over the last pair of weeks. This is because I’ve been working with some friends on something extra special. Starting on Monday, I’ll be posting a miniseries covering an epic play of one of my favorite boardgames: Runewars. This is an excellent specimen of boardgaming at its best from Fantasy Flight Games and designer Corey Konieczka (whose games I’ve prattled about twice before). We’ll be using both the base game and the expansion, Banners of War (by designer Andrew Meredith). The series will be spread out over eight parts, and will be updated every Monday and Thursday. Should be fun.
That’s the bulk of my announcement. If you want details on the game, they’re posted below.
La Piña de La Muerte: Pineapple Smash Crew
The opening screen of Pineapple Smash Crew, which leaves little doubt about the type of pineapples being smashed.
The world’s fastest man can run about 12 meters per second. The world’s slowest explosion travels about 1800. What can we learn from this? That we can do a way better job of motivating Olympic runners.
Pineapple Smash Crew from Rich Make Game (Rich Edwards making games) is all about Outrunning the Fireball. Also pineapples. You know, to cause the fireballs.
I’m sure there isn’t a person on earth who wouldn’t get a buzz from escaping an explosion. But in a game where you’ll be doing exactly that at least a couple times every minute, can the thrill last?
RPS Ascension: Crossing the Diluphe (Winter, Year 2 and Spring, Year 3)
Raidon thinks little of Ichiro’s tactics for peace—snatching missives! Shaking like a child before the cyclops-god! Pandering to the whims of foreign pretenders! Raidon strains to remember that war was not prudent in the past, but a year of preparations has been unkind to Raidon’s spirits. He can hardly remember when he was Akenbei’s favorite, twelve months and a thousand years ago, when Raidon and his god had fought side-by-side to conquer the so-called “independent” tribes of Western Antopeos.
Since returning to Roca to restore order (order which was not nearly so abandoned as Ichiro had made it to sound), Raidon’s eyes have turned increasingly to the Marverni fortress that sits visible on the horizon: a fort that stands high above the marsh it protects. As part of the agreement between the Yomikind and the Marverni, both the ramparts in Roca and the swamp fort at Diluphe have stood sentinel, always watchful of the mutually-distrustful neighbors.
The ramparts of Roca and the swamp fort of Diluphe, both host to sizeable garrisons.
Raidon would see that fort torn to the ground and its stones drowned to the bottom of the muck of Diluphe. They have waited so long in preparing for war that they seem weaker than ever. Akenbei sits in the great hall and drinks fermented rice. Raidon’s friend Rai slowly dies of rot in a distant land. Ichiro can hardly remember how to lead those few men who will follow his commands. Even if his peers—and his god—have forgotten it, Raidon knows that war is coming. And what better way to begin it than by tearing down that abominable ever-visible sentinel?
And Then the Whimper: The Snowfield
The opening scene. You can probably already tell that this will be one of Space-Biff!'s jollier posts.
You’d think, to hear some people talk,
_That lads go West with sobs and curses,
And sullen faces white as chalk,
_Hankering for wreathes and tombs and hearses.
—Siegfried Sassoon, “How to Die”
Here’s one for that strange cross-section of human beings who feel that a videogame can be more than just entertainment: The Snowfield by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab (such a mouthful) does something that few games dare to attempt, and it pulls it off in fifteen minutes. It made me think. It made me sad. It made me shiver.
I’d recommend you play it before reading further. Once you have the Unity Web Player installed, you can play it right in your browser. Oh, and turn the volume up a bit.
RPS Ascension: Upstarts (Autumn, Year 2)
When last we saw what the Yomi were up to, Ichiro had received a letter of potential alliance from Nirelye, the goddess (at least Ichiro thinks Nirelye is a she) of the Sauromatian swamp-dwellers. The price was an invasion of the Yomi’s current allies, the Marverni tribes, who had recently begun an invasion of the Sauromatians. Since Raidon and Hirohisa, the nation’s two best generals, were still at the capital in the north, Ichiro had decided to avert immediate war by keeping this information secret from his own patron god, Akenbei, who was spending his time partying at the fortress in Roca.
Southwest Antopeos as autumn begins: The Marverni tribes invade Fever Fens, owned by Sauromatia. Akenbei and the Yomi feast in Roca.
Unfortunately for Ichiro, he will soon regret keeping Nirelye’s missive from his master.
A Plea from Space-Biff!
When I decided to start writing Space-Biff! it was for one of those “just because” reasons. It was meant as an outlet for things that interest me, and I never intended to use it as a soapbox. But you may have heard of the Stop Online Piracy Act or the Protect IP Act (the links lead to their full texts). If not, I’d recommend a couple of short reads, or a look at their respective Wikipedia pages. If that’s too much effort, then there’s a just-over-four-minute video after the jump. Please take a look.
Don’t Trip: Running with Rifles
Many green men running. Running with rifles. (You may need to click for bigger. They're small men).
I have two secret talents. One of them is that I can fall asleep anywhere and anywhen. The other is that I’m pretty good at following through on my New Year’s Resolutions. I made three this year. Two of them are dull—you know, weight loss dull. But the exciting one is that I’ve determined that I’m going to update Space-Biff! with much more regularity. I’ve already got a bunch of great stuff planned for this and next month, and all I have to do is beat L.A. Noire, remember what happened twenty turns ago in the RPS Dominions 3 game, and contract another disease in Skyrim. Today was MLK Day, so I had all day free to work on these things.
Instead I spent all day playing Running with Rifles by Modulaatio Games. Day wasted? I think not.
Gears of War: The Board Game: The Review (Part 2)
Our attempt at an over-the-shoulder shot, just like from the PC game. This is, incidentally, the one moment where weenie-man Damon Baird attempts something heroic. I'm sure he missed the shot.
“C’mon Baird! A little bit of this is good for you! Builds your immune system.”
—Augustus “Cole Train” Cole, Gears of War
In part 1, I outlined the three things that stand out to me as the advantages of Gears of War: The Board Game, the latest from Corey Konieczka and Fantasy Flight Games. I’d recommend reading that first, because this is the segment where I talk about the game’s three disadvantages. Now, before I get into that, I’d like to say that for some folks these might be totally negligible. I enjoyed the game, and thought a few of the mechanics were especially smart. However, I wouldn’t recommend a purchase without a prospective buyer knowing a few things.
So here we go!
Gears of War: The Board Game: The Review (Part 1)
Dominic Santiago finds himself swarmed by wretches in Gears of War: The Board Game.
“Yeah! Wooo! Bring it on, sucka! This is my kinda shit!”
— Augustus “Cole Train” Cole, Gears of War
Corey Konieczka is one of only four board game designers whose names I’m capable of recognizing immediately. He’s designed some of my favorite games, such as Battlestar Galactica, Runewars, and Mansions of Madness—the last of which I’ve talked about at length here on Space-Biff! before. He’s also designed some other well-received games like Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Space Hulk: Death Angel, and Starcraft. As such, when one of my friends proposed Mr Konieczka’s recent Gears of War: The Board Game for our next game night, I didn’t require much convincing.
The verdict? Find the first half after the jump.
SPACE-BIFF! 