Yeah, I know I haven't been posting much. It's amazing how much of your soul and motivation work can suck out of you. Still, I've been managing to survive so far, mostly by doing some fun things outside of work.

Lately, I've been playing "Fallout 3". It's a fun game, though it is too much like Oblivion--I really didn't like that game--for my tastes. So, I thought it was really cool when I saw these glow-in-the-dark Nuka Cola T-Shirts. Unfortunately, they are really expensive at $45.

Despite the supposed controversy, Mass Effect was a fun game. BioWare does have a knack for storytelling in their games, even if game play isn't always fun. Mass Effect is certainly one of their better games, and one of my favorites from them.

So, it's interesting to see that EA is optioning the movie rights to the game. There's a lot of good material to work from: The complete script clocks in around 400,000 words and there are two stand-alone novels--no, I haven't read them. So, it's a pretty rich world.

I know there hasn't been a good game-to-movie adaptation, but you never know, this could be the first.

Last week, I mentioned how EA started fighting against Fox News' branding of "Mass Effect" as pornography. One of Fox's "experts" is the self-help author Cooper Lawrence. In response to her poorly researched remarks, angry gamers review spammed her latest book on Amazon. Childish, I know, but she got the message: research matters. Ms. Lawrence has now admitted her mistake.

It's progress, though I doubt Fox will ever retract their statements. I would also like to believe that this sends a message to people that claim an "expert" status on such Infotainment programs such as Fox News. A vain hope, I know, since many people are willing to say anything for a few minutes in the limelight.

The gaming industry, like NASA, has long been a pet punching bag of the popular media. Some of the criticism has been justified. Some has not.

In recent weeks, Fox News has been claiming that last year's "Mass Effect", a popular Science Fiction Role Playing Game made by BioWare, contains porn. Electronic Arts, BioWare's parent company, is fighting back.

I salute EA for the attempt. But, appealing to Fox's better nature is probably futile.

Penny Arcade pointed me at this amazing video about head tracking using the WiiRemote. It's all explained in the video, so go watch it.

That is some cool tech. It will make some amazing games if anyone ever follows up on it.

This makes me very sad.

When I was a teenager, a friend lent me the excellent Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess . The book opened my eyes to a new way of looking at chess. I've never been a great player, but this book helped me a lot. And over the years, I've gone back and thumbed through my copy, like an old friend.

Back in 1993, I was reminded of his genius when watching the movie Searching For Bobby Fischer. I am very fond of both the book and the movie.

Bobby Fischer was not without flaws. He had some horrible ones, in particular, his antisemitism. But despite his erratic personality, he was a genius at chess. The chess world is poorer for his loss.

37. Ke1 Bb4+
38. Kd1 Bb3+
39. Kc1 Ne2+
40. Kb1 Nc3+
41. Kc1 Rc2# 0-1

Rock Band is considered to be the best game of 2007 by many people. I played a bit last month, but I finally got my own copy last weekend. It's great fun!

A lot has been written about the game, especially drumming. I think these two are excellent:

• Learn How To Hold Drumsticks
• and Wired's Top Tips For Drummers

Drumming is noisy, so I might need to get some silencing pads.

Yes, I know a lot of people find the concept of Guitar Hero and Rock Band to be ridiculous. I think they miss the point: it's not about pretending to play an instrument; rather it is about connecting to music you like. Also, the games can be extremely challenging at the higher levels, so you feel great when you "beat" a song that you've been having trouble with. All in all, they are fun party games.

Been very busy, so here's a quicky:

If you are a Half-Life fan, you'll totally love this headcrab.

Microsoft has admitted that all the 11.6 million faulty Xbox 360s sold in the last 19 months are faulty. How can that not warrant a recall?

I'm sure it's their gamble to reduce costs. "Microsoft estimated that the repairs will cost the company US$1.05bn to US$1.15bn". Based on my quick estimate, they are expecting around a 1 in 3 return rate.

CCP, the maker of EVE Online, has hired a real economist to help with the ingame economy. Dr. EyjóG describes his CV and duties in the linked post.

I wonder if EVE Online has been the first to hire a real economist.

Anyway, Dr. EyjóG makes no mention of RMT taxation. While the CCP EULA does not allow RMT and other offline selling of goods, CCP does allow for Time Card trading. This is a tangible asset, so I'm sure governments would still consider taxing such a trade.

Here's news on a possible lightsaber game for the Wii. That is a really cool idea. And it provides a more interesting way to fling the wiimote for personal injury and property damage!

There have been warning signs that governments are seriously considering taxing virtual economies. It is now becoming a reality. The US Congress' JEC will be releasing a report in August. The IRS could start taxing soon afterwards.

Korea, on the other hand, will start taxing Real Money Trading (RMT) on July 1st.

How this will affect MMOs and other virtual communities remains to be seen.

Previously, I said I was excited about LEGO's upcoming MMO, now called Universe. Now they've released a trailer. After watching, I'm really excited.

I recently watched Gamer Generation on Discovery Channel. It's a good program, even if I found some flaws in the quality of reporting. Overall, it is well worth watching even if you aren't into games.

The show is divided into two parts. The first episode is mostly about first-person shooters (FPS). Two interesting perspectives are 1) how the Army uses games to recruit, and 2) how a Syrian gaming company is responding to Western games. The second perspective is a little disturbing. This episode also talks about the common issues with FPS games.

The second episode is about MMOs. Personally, I found the second part to be more interesting and better put together than the first part. And, yes, I do play MMOs, just not WoW.

One "issue" raised in the program was how immersed teens are in games. I won't go into the standard answers. Instead, I think there is a point that is commonly overlooked: How children lost the right to roam.

Is it solely the fault of games that kids get so immersed in them? I don't think so. Kids are curious. They want to explore. They test limits. It's how they figure out their place in society and the world. But we've caged our kids. Since they can't explore the physical world, then it's no wonder they'll spend lots of time exploring virtual ones. And they have lots of time to do it.

Nowadays, if a game hits it big, it is almost inevitable that it gets a book treatment. Was Halo the first to start this trend?

Anyway, I played Gears of War, twice, earlier this year. It's a fun shooter with a good story. Unfortunately, the story isn't as fleshed out as it deserves to be. It makes me wonder if the novelization will answer some of those questions.

Gears of War could make a great SF action movie. But, while we wait for Gears 2, maybe we'll have some good SF action books to make the waiting lest noticeable. I know one of my friends would get it. He loves Space Marine books. ;)

Gamepro has a pretty good article on the 11 worst trends in video games. While I mostly agree with the items on the list, I really don't agree with the order. In particular, I can't agree that #11, "The perfect woman", is lower than #7, "Using every button on the controller".

Anyway, the entire list can be boiled down to this: "Lack of Originality". Everyone races to be second, to cash in on the success of The New Big Thing (tm). Hollywood, publishing, and all sorts of other businesses have this problem. After all, coming up with new ideas is hard. Still, I wish they'd try harder.

So, I have to say the upcoming Assassin's Creed does seem original. It certainly looks entertaining.

Out of all the MMO announcements and rumors, the one I'm most excited about is the Lego MMO. This could be awesome simply because there are no expectations for a Lego MMO; no back story, no baggage, and no restrictions other than a particular look.

Just imagine the quests you could have! In one, you could fight a dragon, in another, you could fly space ships. Rewards could be Lego pieces that you use to build stuff. You could literally build the world around you.

I'm guessing the Lego MMO could be even better than the Star Wars Lego games, and those were a lot of fun.

Update: More info from Kotaku.

According to Ars Technica, there is a move to create a BSG game for the 360 by this fall. This seems awfully rushed, especially for a developer that is not known for first-person shooters. Now that Gears of War has upped the ante, any action/shooter game will have a lot to live up to.

To be honest, I'd be much more interested in a BSG game that focused on the space battles instead of running around shooting cylons. But that's just me.

GameSpot gives it a great review saying "Episode One is even better than Half-Life 2. The only problem is that it's over before you know it." The "shortness" problem isn't a surprise. Valve has already said that they are not going to  break games up into episodes that are delivered every 6 months or so. Episodes, obviously, aren't going to be full-length games.

Remember my previous posting on Lock-in? Well, Valve's delivery mechanism is actually clever. By delivering episodes every 6 months, Valve can have a game provide revenue once or twice a year instead of once every 2 years. They can also get away with charging more for the games. The "standard" cost for a game is around $50. But, episodes are priced around $20. If gamers are committed to playing all 3 parts, that's $60 overall for the game spread out over 1.5 years. There may even be cost saving in developing games this way.

Anyway, enough of the economics. I have to clear up some time in my schedule so I can actually play Episode One! :)

GameSpot has an early hands-on review of the upcoming release from Valve.

My favorite quote from the article? "There are some new additions, though, such as zombines, Combine forces who have been converted to zombies thanks to head crabs. These guys are a lot tougher than traditional zombies, and they have a nasty habit of making a suicide charge at you with a live grenade in their hands. Have fun."

From the sounds of it, Half-Life 2: Episode One will be getting very good reviews.