Thursday, March 29, 2012

Meet You At The Juice Bar!

Having some semblance of a home gym is a double-edged blade. On the one hand, you trade membership fees and other people in for convenience and comfort. On the other, that convenience turns the guilt up to 11 when you don't use that space every day that you're breathing. Some people are smarter about this setup and tuck that into a basement or garage so that it may not be a constant reminder.

Luckily it's not that serious. Staying mildly active will keep most of the disease at bay so for some the 'when I feel like it' method does truly seem to work.

It won't be too much longer that we'll be making the move over to Ink & Pixels, so prepare yourselves for that transition.  If you subscribe by email or RSS, you'll just need to head over there and we're working on setting up a similar way to receive updates when comics and rants are posted. You're also going to find an expanding amount of material on games, comics and technology.  If any of those things seem to interest you, take your time and browse around.  Drop us an email, give your suggestions be they the things you liked or why you'll never be coming back again.

Hey, somewhere along the line we crossed our first year doing Doodlepunks!  If I were good at this kind of thing I'd know exactly how many, but I believe we've also crossed our first 100 comics!  The instant millions and private jet were definitely worth the half hour's worth of time I spend twice a week sending sillies out there.

Thanks for sticking with me thus far and let's walk this road a bit longer together.

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Game After Reading

It's been a very Guild Wars-week here at the Manor, and am very excited. While there's no actual release date yet, there have been some closed beta tests for the press and videos and articles are starting to hit the usual places online.

When I do have a chance to try the game out, I'm going to do my best to avoid the main character I'll play when the full game is released.  I'll be playing an Asura; tiny little creatures with huge ears and huge intellect.  Even though they're small, you can still create a Guardian Asura, so a character meant to get in the way of danger for your friends while dishing out damage.  The idea for tonight was what if all the items weren't made for Asura and my profession could use them? It would probably be more trouble than it was worth, but having a hammer swing me into battle would be hilarious the first few hundred times.

The groundskeepers here at the Manor dodged a bullet this week, the temperatures dropped low enough again that they didn't have to start mowing the lawn for the year.  At least, not for a few more weeks. I'm sure they're thrilled to get out there and start that all up again for the next seven months.

Two down, three to go.  'Nuff said.

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Mess Affect 3

Between work responsibilities, attempting to make myself social and doing the general T.C.O.B. about The Estate, I was only able to finish Mass Effect 3 yesterday.  It was to... mixed results.

First, I was glad to have reached the summit, the final piece of the puzzle was going to fall into place, we were going to know everything about and/or destroy the Reapers.  Only gamers weren't really given that opportunity for a feeling of finality.  Sure, there is one decision that impacts you, but it is so vague as to completely negate the whole feeling of choice throughout THREE ENTIRE GAMES.  Honestly, it would just be an ending to me if not for the many hours where I was convinced what I was doing mattered and I could make a choice to end things my way.

This does not mean, however, that I'm looking forward to the fact that there will be more paid DLC coming out regarding the ending.  The gaming community put out such an uproar over this ending that Bioware and EA are considering adding downloadable content to complete what felt like a very sloppy, thrown-together bit of writing at the end of an epic story.  I may or may not bite for this, since if it isn't free, I shouldn't have to pay money to correct a game company's failings.  By even thinking about making this addition to the game, Bioware is admitting they aren't pleased with the end result.  If it was a finished product, they'd inform us what we should have seen and tell us to move on with our lives, but that's not the response being handed out.

We posted a few articles, both an early-impressions discussion between myself and the other Editor, as well as another article regarding Bioware's response over at Ink & Pixels.  Feel free to peruse at your leisure.  We did it, another wacky week is just about over, hooray for us!

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Three Slides Of Power!

I like the idea that Daylight Savings Time throws everyone off, even those that go bump in the night.  I know that since it reared it's head this year I've been trying to get back into my rhythm, if somewhat unsuccessfully.

For all those that are interested, my self-imposed exile to the X-Box is nearing it's end as the notorious Mass Effect 3 ending is in sight.  I'm not really one to complain to the point of involving the federal government, which some imbalanced geeks out there have done.  After hearing all the negative reactions but keeping myself away from what they were upset about, I'm curious what kind of reaction I'll have.  My general state is to vote with my dollars, so if I don't like this one, I'll stop buying games from that production studio.  There is a piece of me that is steeling myself for the counter-culture reaction; that is to say that my brain will trick me into loving the ending because that's not the popular thing to do right now.  Either way it's a story, and it's one that I haven't written so even if I'm disappointed, I'm sure I'll get over it and move on within a few hours.

In my possession is a non-movie-fied book version of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  I'm excited to get around to reading it, but I don't think that will happen for several weeks.  I wanted to read the book for two reasons: because the premise is pretty awesome and also as a way to see if I'll have any interest in seeing the movie when it's released.  Either way, I'll have some entertainment out of it, I'm just hoping it's of the good variety.

Do I remember my little sign-off? Am I that out of the groove?  Ah well, the unnecessary journey of a thousand comics starts with single 'punk.

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Nerd, Interrupted

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor being stuck in a hotel room the past three days will keep me from posting a comic this eve! I say thee, nay!  Cobbling together what little I had in the room and what little is left of my inspiration, I present you with a sassy snake.

Let's just talk about hotels for a moment, shall we?  They're an optical illusion, and trick of the light that makes you think you're staying somewhere super nice when in fact you're staying in cinder block cells with Ikea furniture thrown in to populate the space.  I understand what it would cost to truly make a hotel as opulent as Trump would have you believe his are, but it wouldn't hurt to feel as if the effort is being made to replicate an actual living situation. 

Speaking of actual living, yes I am surviving on what scant megabytes are allotted to my room.  That doesn't take away from the fact that hotel internet super duper sucks.  Coming from a solid connection on all devices and trickling out to less than 1mbps (at best) is maddening to the point of defeatism.  It is what it is and I count down the time to return to my digital distractions tomorrow as early as possible.

Here I come, Shepard! I've been avoiding some of the juicier news sites to avoid spoilers about your Mass Effect 3 ending so I'm seeing negative headlines, but I believe in you!  A fellow nerd (or he might prefer geek, but that's a topic all unto itself) and I are populating a new site with material, one article being a conversation about our Mass Effect 3 impressions.  When we get it all wrapped up, I'll direct link you over to Ink & Pixels, but until then just check out what we've done so far.  It will eventually be the only destination for Doodlepunks goodness, so get used to the URL.

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Gaming Assistant

Sometimes handling all of the awesome things that come out or are thrust into your periphery can feel like a second job.  It takes dedication and a clear idea of what you're going to get to and what you'll just have to pass on to navigate it all successfully.  I am not always at keeping this kind of sharp focus.

The idea tonight was what if it got to the point where you had to outsource some of your entertainment?  Bringing someone into the company of your company in order to get to everything on the agenda.

Along those same lines, it's a huge week.  iPad3 or as it's rumored to be named iPadHD will be announced tomorrow, hopefully with a sweet release date as I believe the Estate will be acquiring one as an experiment in tablet computer life.  Released today is Mass Effect 3, the final chapter in a five-plus year story arc that I've sunk a lot of time in.  I'll be picking that up Thursday so there's no promises you'll get a solid comic until later on.  On top of all that, I'll be getting my comic fix on this week too, just a short month away from the big summer event.  Cherry on top, I found myself picking up the starter to a gigantic fantasy novel series along with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (non-movie book version, if that's even a thing).

Whew, I'm sure you're all ready for a nap just keeping up with my hobbies.  Keep your nose down and the legs pumping, we'll get through it together one way or another.

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Art Mocking Life

Hopefully the piece I'm referring to tonight isn't lost on you guys, otherwise it's going to fall more flat than normal.  I'll be posting images of the painting in question as well as my favorite painting by Magritte below (Castle in the Pyrenees).  I've actually got a poster print of the latter hanging up in my office.

Not too terribly much to comment on since I updated yesterday, but I had to get myself back on schedule somehow.

I will say that I had a chance to try out the new Facebook game Avengers Alliance and it is completely forgettable.  The only real difference between this and other social media games is that it's full of recognizable characters and locations.  Other than that, it would be completely lost in the mix.  You still get bonuses for inviting other people to come and play in your "alliance" and actually can't advance the story unless you do so.  I checked it out for a full half hour, and I think I know enough to give it a solid B- .  It's not bad by any stretch, I was just hoping for all the money they were dumping into it they would innovate in some way.

Anyways, enjoy your weekends, keep on plugging and I'll see you all next time.

 

Punch it, Chewie!